Vsig1, or V-set and immunoglobulin domain containing 1, is a cell-cell adhesion molecule. It belongs to the immunoglobulin superfamily and is preferentially expressed in the stomach, testis, and certain cancers such as gastric, esophageal, and ovarian cancers [3]. Functionally, it may be involved in cell-cell adhesion processes and is hypothesized to play a role in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenomenon. Genetic models, like gene knockout (KO) mice, can be valuable in studying its function.

In mice, knocking out Vsig1 using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing showed that Vsig1 may not be essential for spermatogenesis and normal testis development, as male KO mice had normal sperm number and motility and were fertile [2]. In gastric cancer, the membrane-cytoplasmic translocation of VSIG1 can indicate EMT due to the activation of the canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Also, cases with subcellular translocation of VSIG1 had the poorest overall survival. The loss of VSIG1 expression was significantly correlated with poor overall survival and disease-free survival, suggesting it may serve as a prognostic marker and a potential therapeutic target for gastric cancer [1,4].

In conclusion, Vsig1 has an important role in the differentiation of glandular gastric epithelia and is associated with the development and prognosis of gastric cancer. The use of Vsig1 KO mouse models has provided insights into its non-essential role in spermatogenesis and its significance in gastric cancer, helping to understand the biological functions and disease-related mechanisms associated with Vsig1.

References:

1. Satala, Catalin-Bogdan, Jung, Ioan, Kovacs, Zsolt, Patrichi, Andrei-Ionut, Gurzu, Simona. 2022. V-set and immunoglobulin domain containing 1 (VSIG1) as an emerging target for epithelial-mesenchymal transition of gastric cancer. In Scientific reports, 12, 16241. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-19883-1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36171238/

2. Jung, Yena, Bang, Hyewon, Kim, Young-Hyun, Kim, Sun-Uk, Kim, Ekyune. 2021. V-Set and Immunoglobulin Domain-Containing 1 (VSIG1), Predominantly Expressed in Testicular Germ Cells, Is Dispensable for Spermatogenesis and Male Fertility in Mice. In Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 11, . doi:10.3390/ani11041037. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33916888/

3. Oidovsambuu, Odgerel, Nyamsuren, Gunsmaa, Liu, Shuai, Engel, Wolfgang, Adham, Ibrahim M. 2011. Adhesion protein VSIG1 is required for the proper differentiation of glandular gastric epithelia. In PloS one, 6, e25908. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0025908. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21991385/

4. Chen, Yibing, Pan, Ke, Li, Shengping, He, Jia, Li, Qiao. 2011. Decreased expression of V-set and immunoglobulin domain containing 1 (VSIG1) is associated with poor prognosis in primary gastric cancer. In Journal of surgical oncology, 106, 286-93. doi:10.1002/jso.22150. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22095633/