Distinctive gene expression profiles by cDNA microarrays in endometrioid and serous carcinomas of the endometrium

Endometrial carcinomas are classified by their morphology into two major subtypes. Endometrioid carcinomas (type I) are generally estrogen dependent, well-differentiated, superficially invasive, and have a good outcome. Serous carcinomas (type II) are hormone independent, frequently deeply invasive and widely metastatic, and have a poor prognosis. Microarray technology and analysis allows us to determine if the global gene expression profiles of these two subtypes correlate with their morphologic phenotype. Fresh tissue from 18 endometrial carcinomas was studied: 7 well-, 2 moderately, and one poorly differentiated endometrioid, 4 serous carcinomas, and 4 high-grade mixed endometrioid-serous carcinomas. Labeled cDNA probes were synthesized (Cy5 for tumor, Cy3 for reference) and applied to microarrays containing 18,098 cDNA clones or ESTs. A pool of equal amounts of total RNA from each tumor served as the reference RNA. By unsupervised cluster analysis, the endometrioid carcinomas clustered together and were separate from the serous carcinomas. The high-grade mixed carcinomas clustered with the serous carcinomas. Using a statistical algorithm based on gene expression pattern and conducting a supervised analysis of the two defined groups, we have identified 315 genes that statistically differentiate type I from type II endometrial carcinomas. In addition to corroborating the predicted overexpression of known markers (e.g., ras and catenin in endometrioid carcinomas), the cDNA microarray technique has revealed novel alterations in gene expression relevant to cell cycle, cell adhesion, signal transduction, apoptosis, and tumor progression not previously implicated in endometrial carcinomas. For serous carcinomas, these include aldolase, desmoplakin, integrin-linked kinase, PKC, and metallopeptidase. In conclusion, the gene expression profiles of type I and type II endometrial carcinomas are different. Refinement of these profiles will permit more accurate diagnostic tumor classification and the development of prognosis assays.