Gene expression fingerprint of uterine serous papillary carcinoma: identification of novel molecular markers for uterine serous cancer diagnosis and therapy

• Published in: British journal of cancer Vol. 92; no. 8; pp. 1561 - 1573
• Main Authors: SANTIN, A. D, ZHAN, F, PECORELLI, S, CANE, S, BELLONE, S, PALMIERI, M, THOMAS, M, BURNETT, A, ROMAN, J. J, CANNON, M. J, SHAUGHNESSY, J. JR
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basingstoke Nature Publishing Group 25.04.2005
• Subjects: Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Cancer research; Claudin-4; Cystadenocarcinoma, Papillary - genetics; Cystadenocarcinoma, Papillary - pathology; Cystadenocarcinoma, Papillary - therapy; Endometrial cancer; Endometrium - physiology; Female; Female genital diseases; Gene expression; Gene Expression Profiling; Genetics and Genomics; Gynecology; Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics; Histology; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Medical diagnosis; Medical research; Medical sciences; Membrane Proteins - genetics; Membrane Proteins - metabolism; Membrane Proteins - pharmacology; Middle Aged; Obstetrics; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; Oncology; Prognosis; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Tumors; Uterine Neoplasms - genetics; Uterine Neoplasms - pathology; Uterine Neoplasms - therapy; United States > US; Genetic marker; serous papillary uterine cancel gene expression profiling; Uterus cancer; Malignant tumor; Molecular marker; Gene expression; Female genital diseases; Papillary serous carcinoma; Gene expression profile; Cancerology; Treatment; Fingerprint method; Uterine diseases; Diagnosis
• ISSN: 0007-0920; 1532-1827
• DOI: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6602480

Uterine serous papillary cancer (USPC) represents a rare but highly aggressive variant of endometrial cancer, the most common gynecologic tumour in women. We used oligonucleotide microarrays that interrogate the expression of some 10 000 known genes to profile 10 highly purified primary USPC cultures and five normal endometrial cells (NEC). We report that unsupervised analysis of mRNA fingerprints readily distinguished USPC from normal endometrial epithelial cells and identified 139 and 390 genes that exhibited >5-fold upregulation and downregulation, respectively, in primary USPC when compared to NEC. Many of the genes upregulated in USPC were found to represent adhesion molecules, secreted proteins and oncogenes, such as L1 cell adhesion molecule, claudin-3 and claudin-4, kallikrein 6 (protease M) and kallikrein 10 (NES1), interleukin-6 and c-erbB2. Downregulated genes in USPC included SEMACAP3, ras homolog gene family, member I (ARHI), and differentially downregulated in ovarian carcinoma gene 1. Quantitative RT-PCR was used to validate differences in gene expression between USPC and NEC for several of these genes. Owing to its potential as a novel therapeutic marker, expression of the high-affinity epithelial receptor for Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin (CPE) claudin-4 was further validated through immunohistochemical analysis of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens from which the primary USPC cultures were obtained, as well as an independent set of archival USPC specimens. Finally, the sensitivity of primary USPC to the administration of scalar doses of CPE in vitro was also demonstrated. Our results highlight the novel molecular features of USPC and provide a foundation for the development of new type-specific therapies against this highly aggressive variant of endometrial cancer.