Golgi phosphoprotein 2 promoter (GOLPH2 promoter)

The Golgi phosphoprotein 2 (GOLPH2) promoter is a DNA regulatory sequence that controls the expression of the GOLM1 gene, which encodes the GP73 protein. In healthy liver tissue, this promoter has minimal activity; however, it becomes highly active in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and during chronic liver inflammation (Gu et al., 2009; Riener et al., 2009). This specific activation pattern has led to its development as a tumor-specific promoter in gene therapy and oncolytic virotherapy. By incorporating the GOLPH2 promoter into viral vectors, therapeutic agents like the Herpes Simplex Virus Thymidine Kinase (HSV-TK) can be selectively expressed in cancer cells, sparing healthy tissue (Hu et al., 2011; Wang et al., 2012). While not a target for small molecule drugs, the promoter is a critical component of precision medicine strategies for liver cancer. Its activity is also the underlying cause for the elevation of GP73, a widely recognized serum biomarker for HCC.

Other names

GP73 promoterGOLM1 promoterGolgi membrane protein 1 promoter

Tumor-specific transcriptional targeting to drive expression of therapeutic or reporter genes specifically in GOLPH2-overexpressing cells.