Expression of 11 HOX Genes Is Deregulated in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma
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1044 Vol. 11, 1044–1049, February 1, 2005 Clinical Cancer Research Expression of 11 HOX Genes Is Deregulated in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Ke-Neng Chen,1 Zhen-Dong Gu,1 Yang Ke,2 mucosa. Five of the 39 HOX genes were expressed in both Ji-You Li,3 Xiao-Tian Shi,5 and Guang-Wei Xu4 types of tissue indicating their possible role in maintaining Departments of 1Thoracic Surgery, 2Genetics, 3Pathology, and 4General normal structure and function of adult esophageal mucosa. Surgery, Peking University School of Oncology, Beijing Cancer Eleven of the 39 HOX genes were deregulated in cancer Hospital, Beijing, China; and 5Department of Thoracic Surgery, Anyang tissue. These genes possibly participate in the carcinogenesis Tumor Hospital, Anyang City, China of ESCC. ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION Purpose: HOX genes are vital for all aspects of Esophageal cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the mammalian growth and differentiation, and recent data world, of which esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) have shown that their deregulated expression is related to accounts for >90% of the cases (1, 2). The highest incidence of carcinogenesis. To date, there has been no systemic study ESCC in the world occurs in north-central China (3). Although on expression of HOX genes in esophageal carcinoma. We tremendous advances in diagnosis and treatment have been investigated the expression pattern of 39 known HOX achieved recently, ESCC is still one of the most lethal genes in cancerous and noncancerous tissue from 36 malignancies mainly because of advanced of stage at discovery patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma to and the lack of an efficacious system both in understanding its determine whether their expression is altered in esophageal carcinogenic mechanism and in clinical evaluation. This cancer. understanding could lead to a better clinical evaluation and Experimental Design: Thirty-six patients with resectable treatment for individual patients. Many of the molecular esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) were enrolled pathways that underlie carcinogenesis are aberrations of the in this study. Specific primers were designed for each of 39 normal processes (4, 5). The fetal cellular features of tumor HOX genes, and reverse transcription-PCR was done in cells suggest that neoplasia arises through a process of cancerous and noncancerous samples of these 36 patients. defective ontogeny. HOX genes code transcription factors that Furthermore, the expression of HOXA9 protein was orchestrate organogenesis patterning and maintain tissue subjected to Western blot analysis in all 36 paired tissue homeostasis. Thus, if defective ontogeny is a mechanism in samples. cancer development, it can be hypothesized that tumor cells Results: Eight of 39 HOX genes were expressed in should express the HOX genes, which are normally expressed cancerous but not in noncancerous tissue. Five of 39 HOX by the embryonic cells of that tissue. Because of their global genes were expressed both in cancerous and noncancerous importance in development and differentiation and their tissue. Of the latter, expression of HOXA7, HOXA9, and frequent deregulation in cancer, HOX genes are ideal subjects HOXC6 was significantly higher in cancerous tissue (P < for exploration the intimate relationship between carcinogenesis 0.05). The remaining 26 HOX genes were not detected in and embryogenesis. either types of tissue. HOXA9 protein was expressed in both HOX genes constitute a family of transcription factors kinds of tissue (cancer tissue versus noncancerous mucosa: key to developmental processes (6). They all contain the 0.34 F 0.32 versus 0.24 F 0.27, P = 0.121). homeobox, a highly conserved 183-nucleotide sequence Conclusions: This is the first comprehensive survey of encoding a 61-amino-acid domain (the homeodomain) respon- 39 HOX gene expression in ESCC and noncancerous sible for the recognition and binding of sequence-specific DNA motifs. In humans, the 39 HOX genes identified thus far are clustered into 13 paralogue groups distributed on Received 8/30/04; revised 11/7/04; accepted 11/12/04. chromosomes: 7 (HOXA), 17 (HOXB), 12 (HOXC), and 2 Grant support: Beijing New Star of Science and Technology Plan from (HOXD). During embryonic morphogenesis, these HOX genes Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission grant 954813600, Institutional research fund of Peking University School of determine positional identity along anterior-posterior axes Oncology, Beijing Cancer Hospital, Research fund of Beijing Municipal according to the colinearity rule (7). They are also expressed Science and Technology Commission grant H020920030390. in some normal adult organs with characteristic patterns, The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the suggesting a role in the maintenance of tissue-specific payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked architecture (8). A HOX gene is normally required for advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact. differentiation of a particular tissue, and it can play a causal Note: Dr. K. Chen is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of role in carcinogenesis of that same tissue if expressed at the Plastic Surgery of University of Texas M.D. Anderson (Houston, Texas). wrong time, at the wrong level, or in the wrong context. HOX Requests for reprints: Ke-Neng Chen, Department of Thoracic Surgery, genes were first believed to be transcriptional activators that Peking University School of Oncology, Beijing Cancer Hospital, Beijing, China, 100036. Phone: 86-10-88121122; Fax: 86-10-88122437; E-mail: enhance oncogenesis through their up-regulation in carcinoma [email protected]. cells. The actual situation seems to be much more D2005 American Association for Cancer Research. complicated, as both losses and gains in HOX gene Downloaded from clincancerres.aacrjournals.org on September 26, 2021. © 2005 American Association for Cancer Research. Clinical Cancer Research 1045 expression are related to carcinogenesis (4). Therefore, the MATERIALS AND METHODS current state of our knowledge is insufficient to establish a Samples Collection and Preparation. Tissue samples precise, causal relationship between individual HOX genes were removed from 36 patients with ESCC who underwent and the specific cancer phenotypes to which they contribute, surgical resection at the Thoracic Surgery Department of Peking or to understand how HOX genes contribute to the tissue- University School of Oncology from February 2003 to June specific features of cancer. Comprehensive analysis of the 2003. All of the patients underwent radical esophagectomy expression patterns of HOX genes in different cancers is without any preoperative chemotherapy or radiotherapy. They needed to fill these gaps in knowledge. Researchers have include 29 men and seven women ages 40 to 69 years (mean 60 shown that the deregulation of HOX genes is associated both years). The pathologic diagnosis of ESCC was confirmed by two with leukemia and solid malignancies (9–21). To date, no independent senior pathologists from the Pathologic Department persuasive reports have yet been published on HOX gene of Peking University School of Oncology. These tumors were expression patterns in ESCC (22). However, knowing the expressionpatternofthisgenefamilyinESCCmay classified into stage IIa (n = 10), IIb (n = 9), and III (n = 17) contribute to our understanding of what role HOX genes according to the criteria of the Unio Internationale Contra play in this specific cancer phenotype. Cancrum tumor-node-metastasis system of malignant tumors This report is the first systemic study on 39 HOX gene (1987). During operation, each of 500 mg tissue samples was expression portraits both in tissues of ESCC and matched taken both from non-necrotic ESCC tissue and noncancerous noncancerous mucosa. We found unique HOX gene expression mucosa and immediately snap frozen in liquid nitrogen and pattern in both kinds of tissue. These observations indicate stored at À80jC until RNA or protein was extracted. that 11 HOX genes possibly participate in the carcinogenesis Noncancerous mucosa referred the tissue taken from at least of ESCC. 5 cm away from cancerous margin. This study got the approval Table 1 Specific primers for HOX genes Primers Gene Sense Antisense Annealing temperature (jC) Size (bp) Intron HOXA1 ATGAACTCCTTCCTGGAATA CGTACTCTCCAACTTTCC 48 655 + HOXA2 ACAGCGAAGGGAAATGTAAAAGC GGGCCCCAGAGACGCTAA 54 102 À HOXA3 TGCAAAAAGCGACCTACTACGA CGTCGGCGCCCAAAG 51 126 À HOXA4 TGCATGCGAGCCACGTCCT TTGACCTGGCGCTCAGACAA 52 391 + HOXA5 TGCGCAAGCTGCACATAAGTCATG TTGAAGTGGAACTCCTTCTCCAGC 56 112 + HOXA6 GATGCAGCGCATGAACTCCTGCG TGGGCTGCGTGGAATTGATGAGC 58 250 + HOXA7 CAAAATGCCGAGCCGACTT TAGCCGGACGCAAAGGG 58 146 À HOXA9 CAGCCAACTGGCTTCATGCG CACTCGTCTTTTGCTCGGTC 53 229 À HOXA10 AGAGCAGCAAAGCCTCGCCGGAGAAG GGACGCTGCGGCTAATCTCTAGGCG 62 198 + HOXA11 ACCCGCAAAAAGCGCTGC GAGCATGCAGGACAGTTG 50 114 À HOXA13 GGGAGAAAGAAGCGCGTG CGTCGTGGCTGATATCCG 53 114 À HOXB1 CCTTCTTAGAGTACCCACTCTG GCATCTCCAGCTGCCTCCTT 52 826 + HOXB2 TCCTCCTTTCGAGCAAACCTTCC AGTGGAATTCCTTCTCCAGTTCC 52 353 + HOXB3 AGTACAAGAAGGACCAGAAGGC TGGAGTGTAAGGCGTTCATG 50 120 À HOXB4 GTGCAAAGAGCCCGTCGTCTACC CGTGTCAGGTAGCGGTTGTAGTG 56 161 + HOXB5 GTTCCACTTCAACCGCTACC TGTCCTTCTTCCACTTCATGC 52 122 À HOXB6 GGCGAGGCCGCCAGACATAC ACTCGGCCTGTTTTTCTTCC 52 236 À HOXB7 AGAGTAACTTCCGGATCTA TCTGCTTCAGCCCTGTCTT 48 274 + HOXB8 AGCCTCCTTGTGCAATTG GTAACAATTGCCCACAGC 48 300 À HOXB9 GAGCAGGGCAAAGAGTAA CTTTCTCCTGACACCTAG