Expression of MTA2 gene in ovarian epithelial cancer and its clinical implication

In order to investigate the roles of MTA2 in the pathogenesis of ovarian epithelial cancer, the expression of MTA2 in 4 ovarian cell lines were detected by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and Western-blot assays. MTA2 expression in normal, borderline, benign and malignant epithelial ovarian tissues was immunohistochemically examined. The expression of MTA2 mRNA and protein was detected in all of 4 cell lines of ovarian epithelial cancer. The expression of MTA2 mRNA and protein was higher in strong migration cell lines than in weak migration ones. In borderline and malignant ovarian tissues tested, MTA2 staining was dramatically stronger than in normal and benign tissues (P < 0.01). The expression levels in malignant ovarian tissues were significantly higher than that in borderline epithelial ovarian tissues (P < 0.01). The expression of MTA2 was correlated with clinical stage, histopathological grade and lymph node metastasis. It was concluded that the high expression of MTA2 was associated with more aggressive behaviors of epithelial ovarian cancer. MTA2 provides a novel indicator of ovarian cancer.