Involvement of upregulation of DEPDC1 (DEP domain containing 1) in bladder carcinogenesis

In an attempt to disclose mechanisms of bladder carcinogenesis and discover novel target molecules for development of treatment, we applied a cDNA microarray to screen genes that were significantly transactivated in bladder cancer cells. Among the upregulated genes, we here focused on a novel gene, (DEPDC1) DEP domain containing 1, whose overexpression was confirmed by northern blot and immunohistochemical analyses. Immunocytochemical staining analysis detected strong staining of endogenous DEPDC1 protein in the nucleus of bladder cancer cells. Since DEPDC1 expression was hardly detectable in any of 24 normal human tissues we examined except the testis, we considered this gene-product to be a novel cancer/testis antigen. Suppression of DEPDC1 expression with small-interfering RNA significantly inhibited growth of bladder cancer cells. Taken together, these findings suggest that DEPDC1 might play an essential role in the growth of bladder cancer cells, and would be a promising molecular-target for novel therapeutic drugs or cancer peptide-vaccine to bladder cancers.