Overexpression of ROMO1 and OMA1 are Potentially Biomarkers and Predict Unfavorable Prognosis in Gastric Cancer

Abstract

Purpose: One of the worst types of cancers is gastric cancer and no specific tumor marker is found in relation to it. Reactive oxygen species modulator 1 (ROMO1) and the overlapping with the M-AAA protease 1 homolog (OMA1) proteins are the most important mitochondrial membrane proteins, which are involved in modulating reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and the regulation of mitochondrial structure dynamics. If these proteins do not function properly, oxidative stress increases in the cell, and this can initiate the cancer or worsen the condition.

Methods: In this study, ROMO1 and OMA1 gene expressions in 40 fresh frozen gastric cancer tissue and healthy adjacent tissues were evaluated by real-time PCR, and some of the important parameters related to oxidative stress such as TAC, TOS, MDA, and TTG in the serum of cancer patients compared to healthy people were measured by spectrophotometric and fluorometric techniques.

Results: We observed that ROMO1 and OMA1 gene expressions in gastric cancer tissues increased compared to that in healthy adjacent tissues. In addition, oxidative stress parameters including TOS, OSI, and MDA in the serum of cancer patients have increased significantly and the parameters including TAC and TTG have decreased.

Conclusion: The results in our study represented that ROMO1 and OMA1 gene expressions in gastric cancer tissue have increased compared to that in healthy adjacent tissues, and oxidative stress levels have also increased significantly in relation to these proteins; therefore, these two proteins may be considered as an important cause of gastric cancer, and even introduced as tumor markers.

Keywords: Gastric cancer; Overlapping with the M-AAA Protease 1 Homolog (OMA1); Oxidative stress; Reactive oxygen species; Reactive oxygen species modulator 1 (ROMO1).