Gene expression profiling reveals stromal genes expressed in common between Barrett's esophagus and adenocarcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
Barrett's esophagus is a precursor of esophageal adenocarcinoma. DNA microarrays that enable a genome-wide assessment of gene expression enhance the identification of specific genes as well as gene expression patterns that are expressed by Barrett's esophagus and adenocarcinoma compared with normal tissues. Barrett's esophagus length has also been identified as a risk factor for progression to adenocarcinoma, but whether there are intrinsic biological differences between short-segment and long-segment Barrett's esophagus can be explored with microarrays.


METHODS
Gene expression profiles for endoscopically obtained biopsy specimens of Barrett's esophagus or esophageal adenocarcinoma and associated normal esophagus and duodenum were identified for 17 patients using DNA microarrays. Unsupervised and supervised approaches for data analysis defined similarities and differences between the tissues as well as correlations with clinical phenotypes.


RESULTS
Each tissue displays a unique expression profile that distinguishes it from others. Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma express a unique set of stromal genes that is distinct from normal tissues but similar to other cancers. Adenocarcinoma also showed lower and higher expression for many genes compared with Barrett's esophagus. No difference in gene expression was found between short-segment and long-segment Barrett's esophagus.


CONCLUSIONS
The genome-wide assessment provided by current DNA microarrays reveals many candidate genes and patterns not previously identified. Stromal gene expression in Barrett's esophagus and adenocarcinoma is similar, indicating that these changes precede malignant transformation.
Hao
Ying
Y
Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305-5187, USA.
Triadafilopoulos
George
G
Sahbaie
Peyman
P
Young
Harvey S
HS
Omary
M Bishr
MB
Lowe
Anson W
AW
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D000368:Aged; D001471:Barrett Esophagus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D001706:Biopsy; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000235:genetics; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D011508:Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycans / Q000235:genetics*; D003094:Collagen / Q000235:genetics*; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics*; D016099:Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D037181:Lectins, C-Type / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D053675:Versicans
D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D011508:Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycans; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D037181:Lectins, C-Type; C512835:POSTN protein, human; C508322:VCAN protein, human; C508323:Vcan protein, mouse; D053675:Versicans; D003094:Collagen