Antisense experiments demonstrate an exon 4 minus splice variant mRNA as the basis for expression of tNOX, a cancer-specific cell surface protein.

A novel hydroquinone and NADH oxidase with protein disulfide-thiol interchange activity (designated ENOX2 or tNOX), associated exclusively with the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane at the surface of cancer cells and in sera of cancer patients, is absent from the surface of noncancer cells and from sera from healthy individuals. Transfection of HeLa (human cervical carcinoma) cells with antisense oligonucleotides and measurement of mRNA levels by real-time quantitative PCR and growth and drug response by in vitro cytotoxicity assays were combined to demonstrate encoding of a cancer-specific and growth-related cell surface protein, tNOX, via an exon 4 minus splice variant. tNOX mRNA levels of HeLa cells were determined following transfection with antisense relative to control cells transfected with Lipofectamine using the cycle threshold method normalized for GAPDH mRNA. Antisense to tNOX exon 4 mRNA blocked generation of full-length tNOX mRNA but not of exon 4 minus mRNA. Antisense to exon 5 mRNA inhibited the production of exon 4 minus mRNA and full-length tNOX mRNA. Scrambled antisense to exon 5 mRNA was without effect. Antisense to exon 5 mRNA decreased the amount of tNOX protein on the surface of cancer cells. As a control, antisense-mediated downregulation of exon 5 minus mRNA of tNOX also was demonstrated as detected using exon 4/exon 6 primers. Exon 5 antisense blocked the cell surface expression of tNOX whereas exon 4 antisense was without effect. In contrast to nontransfected HeLa cells, cells transfected with exon 5 antisense were not inhibited by the green tea catechin, (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate. A relationship of tNOX to unregulated growth of cancer cells was provided by data where growth of HeLa cells was inhibited by transfection with the exon 5 antisense oligonucleotides. Growth inhibition was followed by apoptosis in greater than 70% of the transfected cells.