title: Characterization of aldehyde dehydrogenase isozymes in ovarian cancer tissues and sphere cultures.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Aldehyde dehydrogenases belong to a superfamily of detoxifying enzymes that protect cells from carcinogenic aldehydes. Of the superfamily, ALDH1A1 has gained most attention because current studies have shown that its expression is associated with human cancer stem cells. However, ALDH1A1 is only one of the 19 human ALDH subfamilies currently known. The purpose of the present study was to determine if the expression and activities of other major ALDH isozymes are associated with human ovarian cancer and ovarian cancer sphere cultures.
  
  
  METHODS
  Immunohistochemistry was used to delineate ALDH isozyme localization in clinical ovarian tissues. Western Blot analyses were performed on lysates prepared from cancer cell lines and ovarian cancer spheres to confirm the immunohistochemistry findings. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reactions were used to measure the mRNA expression levels. The Aldefluor® assay was used to measure ALDH activity in cancer cells from the four tumor subtypes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Immunohistochemical staining showed significant overexpression of ALDH1A3, ALDH3A2, and ALDH7A1 isozymes in ovarian tumors relative to normal ovarian tissues. The expression and activity of ALDH1A1 is tumor type-dependent, as seen from immunohistochemisty, Western blot analysis, and the Aldefluor® assay. The expression was elevated in the mucinous and endometrioid ovarian epithelial tumors than in serous and clear cell tumors. In some serous and most clear cell tumors, ALDH1A1 expression was found in the stromal fibroblasts. RNA expression of all studied ALDH isozymes also showed higher expression in endometrioid and mucinous tumors than in the serous and clear cell subtypes. The expression of ALDH enzymes showed tumor type-dependent induction in ovarian cancer cells growing as sphere suspensions in serum-free medium.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of our study indicate that ALDH enzyme expression and activity may be associated with specific cell types in ovarian tumor tissues and vary according to cell states. Elucidating the function of the ALDH isozymes in lineage differentiation and pathogenesis may have significant implications for ovarian cancer pathophysiology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Yu-Ting
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Saw
authors.forename: Junzheng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Shu-Kay
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Shubai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Surendra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Margit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: William R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Welch
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsuda
authors.forename: Wing-Ping
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Fong
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: Vasilis
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vasiliou
authors.forename: Ross S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Berkowitz
authors.forename: Shu-Wing
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Ng
mesh_terms: D000444:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism*; D004796:Clinical Enzyme Tests / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000378:metabolism*; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D018874:Spheroids, Cellular / Q000201:enzymology; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D007527:Isoenzymes; D000444:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase