Gene expression profiling of malignant mesothelioma

Malignant mesothelioma is a uniformly fatal cancer of the pleural and peritoneal spaces. Several challenging clinical problems include poor understanding of the pathophysiology, inaccurate diagnosis from tissue samples, and unsuccessful treatment strategies. The purpose of this study was to use microarray analysis to identify specific gene expression changes in mesothelioma compared with normal mesothelium.

We performed gene expression analysis on mesothelioma tissue specimens from 16 patients and compared these to 4 control pleural tissue samples using cDNA microarray filters with 4132 clones. Multiple normalization and analysis approaches were used. Quantitative reverse transcription-PCR and immunohistochemistry were used to validate results.

Genes (166) were significantly up-regulated, and 26 were down-regulated. Validation of 18 genes using real-time PCR confirmed array predictions in every case. Analysis revealed activation of several key pathways including genes involved in glucose metabolism, mRNA translation, and cytoskeletal remodeling. Expression profiling identified processes likely responsible for 18-fluoro-2-deoxy-glucose uptake and tumor localization by positron emission tomography, and a role for hypoxia-inducible factor-1 was suggested. Potentially important up-regulated genes included gp96, lung resistance-related protein, galectin-3 binding protein, the M(r) 67,000 laminin receptor (on tumor vessels), and voltage-dependent anion channels. Prospective testing using reverse transcription-PCR confirmed up-regulation of these novel markers.

Expression profiling revealed marked up-regulation of energy, protein translation, and cytoskeletal remodeling pathways in mesothelioma. Additional genes that could be important in our understanding of the pathogenesis of mesothelioma, aiding in diagnosis, or improving targets for therapy were also identified.