Maturational sequence of neuroblastoma revealed by molecular analysis on cDNA microarrays.
Neuroblastoma (NB), one of the most common solid tumors among children, is histologically classified by the degree of maturation. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying its maturational sequence, we analyzed gene-expression profiles of 14 NB tumors on cDNA microarrays consisting of 23,040 genes. Computational analysis identified 78 genes whose expression levels were significantly different between differentiating NB tumors and poorly differentiated NB tumors. This group included genes associated with cell maturation and apoptosis. Among them we identified 15 that were up-regulated in Stage IV NB tumors; these included genes encoding cell adhesion molecules and cytoskeleton proteins. The set of genes we report here should contribute to a better understanding of NB tumor maturation and could lead to development of new therapeutic strategies.
Yamanaka
Yasunari
Y
Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Human Genome Center, Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan.
Hamazaki
Yutaka
Y
Sato
Yoko
Y
Ito
Kiminari
K
Watanabe
Ken-Ichiro
K
Heike
Toshio
T
Nakahata
Tatsutoshi
T
Nakamura
Yusuke
Y
D017209:Apoptosis; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000378:metabolism*; D015536:Down-Regulation; D006801:Humans; D009447:Neuroblastoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012984:Software; D013997:Time Factors; D015854:Up-Regulation
D018076:DNA, Complementary