Combining gene expression signatures and autoantibody profiles in human meningioma

Gene expression profiling has emerged as powerful technique for studying the mechanisms of tumor genesis and development. Seroreactivity profiling of tumor antigens is a more recent technique that further contributes to the understanding of tumors and that offers itself for noninvasive tumor diagnosis. We performed expression profiling of 55,000 transcripts and expressed-sequence-tags for 24 meningiomas and related these data to autoantibody profiles of more than 50 antigens immunogenic in the autologous patients. The expression values of antigens in WHO grade I meningioma were significantly higher if the patients' sera reacted with these antigens as confirmed by a two-tailed Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test. Specifically, KIAA1344 that was previously identified as frequent antigen marker in meningioma, showed increased expression if antigens against KIAA1344 were detected in autologous patients. Our study is the first to combine genome-wide expression signatures and comprehensive seroreactivity patterns toward a more complete view on tumor immunology, especially concerning the overall role of the level of gene expression on the immunogenicity of meningioma antigens.