Expression of the MU17 gene examined by quantitative RT–PCR and immunohistochemistry. (A) Quantitative RT–PCR results in 10 cell lines. Bars, gene expression levels relative to those in NCI-H292 cells. HPAFII, AsPC1 and LS174T cells showed a high mRNA expression level in MUC17 gene, whereas MCF-7, MDA-MB-453, NCI-H292, A427, PANC1, BxPC-3 and Caco2 cells had no or low expression. (B) MUC17 immunoreactivity in 10 cancer cell lines. MUC17 expression was consistent with the results of quantitative RT–PCR. (C) Quantitative RT–PCR results before and after treatment with 5-AzadC, TSA and 5AzadC/TSA in combination in cells with little or no MUC17 expression. After drug treatments, these cells showed significant restoration of MUC17 expression. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.005, when compared with nontreated cells; Student's t-test; n.s., not significant.