Gene expression profiling identifies potential relevant genes in alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma pathogenesis and discriminates PAX3-FKHR positive and negative tumors.
We analyzed the expression signatures of 14 tumor biopsies from children affected by alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS) to identify genes correlating to biological features of this tumor. Seven of these patients were positive for the PAX3-FKHR fusion gene and 7 were negative. We used a cDNA platform containing a large majority of probes derived from muscle tissues. The comparison of transcription profiles of tumor samples with fetal skeletal muscle identified 171 differentially expressed genes common to all ARMS patients. The functional classification analysis of altered genes led to the identification of a group of transcripts (LGALS1, BIN1) that may be relevant for the tumorigenic processes. The muscle-specific microarray platform was able to distinguish PAX3-FKHR positive and negative ARMS through the expression pattern of a limited number of genes (RAC1, CFL1, CCND1, IGFBP2) that might be biologically relevant for the different clinical behavior and aggressiveness of the 2 ARMS subtypes. Expression levels for selected candidate genes were validated by quantitative real-time reverse-transcription PCR.
De Pittà
Cristiano
C
CRIBI Biotechnology Centre and Dipartimento di Biologia, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italy.
Tombolan
Lucia
L
Albiero
Giada
G
Sartori
Francesca
F
Romualdi
Chiara
C
Jurman
Giuseppe
G
Carli
Modesto
M
Furlanello
Cesare
C
Lanfranchi
Gerolamo
G
Rosolen
Angelo
A
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D000071161:Forkhead Box Protein O1; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D000072041:PAX3 Transcription Factor; D051761:Paired Box Transcription Factors / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics*; D011379:Prognosis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018232:Rhabdomyosarcoma, Alveolar / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology*
C085126:FOXO1 protein, human; D000071161:Forkhead Box Protein O1; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; D000072041:PAX3 Transcription Factor; C489409:PAX3 protein, human; D051761:Paired Box Transcription Factors