Downregulation of Runx3 is closely related to the decreased Th1-associated factors in patients with gastric carcinoma.

Runt-related transcription factor 3 (Runx3) is a tumor-suppressor gene and plays an important role in immune regulation, whose reduced expression may play an important role in the development and progression of gastric carcinoma. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of Runx3 on the levels of transcription factors in patients with gastric carcinoma and analyze the relationship between the expression of Runx3 and Th1-type cytokines in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Our results showed that the expression levels of Runx3, T-bet, and IFN-γ in patients with gastric carcinoma were obviously lower than those in control groups, and there was a positive correlation between the expression of Runx3 and T-bet or IFN-γ in patients (p < 0.01). In order to further confirm this result, the Runx3 gene was constructed into pIRES2-eGFP and the recombined plasmid was transfected into SGC-7901 cells with liposome in vitro, the results obtained from the reverse transcription PCR indicated that the mRNA of Runx3, T-bet, or IFN-γ was significantly upregulated individually in Runx3 gene-transfected SGC-7901 cells. It suggested that the Runx3 and Th1-associated factors including T-bet and IFN-γ synchronization declines in gastric carcinoma may contribute to the development of cancer.