Inhibition of Single Minded 2 gene expression mediates tumor-selective apoptosis and differentiation in human colon cancer cells.

A Down's syndrome associated gene, Single Minded 2 gene short form (SIM2-s), is specifically expressed in colon tumors but not in the normal colon. Antisense inhibition of SIM2-s in a RKO-derived colon carcinoma cell line causes growth inhibition, apoptosis, and inhibition of tumor growth in a nude mouse tumoriginicity model. The mechanism of cell death in tumor cells is unclear.

Down's syndrome-associated Single Minded 2 gene as a pancreatic cancer drug therapy target.

We report here a pancreatic cancer drug therapy utility of a gene involved in Down's syndrome. Single Minded 2 gene (SIM2) from Down's Syndrome Critical Region was expressed in pancreatic cancer-derived cell lines as well as in tumor tissues, but not in the normal pancreas. A related member of the SIM family, SIM1, did not show similar specificity.

Down's syndrome-associated single minded gene as a novel tumor marker.

The Cancer Genome Anatomy Project (CGAP) database has thousands of Expressed Sequence Tags encompassing both known and novel genes. Bioinformatics of the CGAP database led to the prediction that Single Minded Gene (sim2) could be specific to colon tumors. The sim2 gene is located in a minimum region of the chromosome 21 often implicated in trisomia called Down's Syndrome Critical Region.