Brief Reports
Copyright ©2005 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. May 14, 2005; 11(18): 2811-2816
Published online May 14, 2005. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i18.2811
Monitoring microarray-based gene expression profile changes in hepatocellular carcinoma
Hong-Ju Mao, Hong-Nian Li, Xiao-Mei Zhou, Jian-Long Zhao, Da-Fang Wan
Hong-Ju Mao, Jian-Long Zhao, Da-Fang Wan, DNA Chip Group, State Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, China
Hong-Nian Li, Xiao-Mei Zhou, National Laboratory for Oncogenes and Related Genes, Shanghai Cancer Institute, 25/Ln 2200 Xie-Tu Road, Shanghai 200032, China
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Correspondence to: Jian-Long Zhao, Professor, DNA Chip group, State Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, China
Telephone: +86-21-62511070-8705
Received: July 17, 2003
Revised: July 18, 2003
Accepted: July 6, 2004
Published online: May 14, 2005
Abstract

AIM: To find out key genes responsible for hepatocarc-inogenesis and to further understand the underlying molecular mechanism through investigating the differential gene expression between human normal liver tissue and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS: DNA microarray was prepared by spotting PCR products of 1000 human genes including 445 novel genes, 540 known genes as well as 12 positive (housekeeping) and 3 negative controls (plant gene) onto treated glass slides. cDNA probes were prepared by labeling normal liver tissue mRNA and cancer liver tissue mRNA with Cy3-dUTP and Cy5-dUTP separately through reverse transcription. The arrays were hybridized against the cDNA probe and the fluorescent signals were scanned. The data obtained from repeated experiments were analyzed.

RESULTS: Among the 20 couple samples investigated (from cancerous liver tissue and normal liver tissue), 38 genes including 21 novel genes and 17 known genes exhibited different expressions.

CONCLUSION: cDNA microarray technique is powerful to identify candidate target genes that may play important roles in human carcinogenesis. Further analysis of the obtained genes is helpful to understand the molecular changes in HCC progression and ultimately may lead to the identification of new targets for HCC diagnosis and intervention.

Keywords: cDNA microarray; Gene expression profile; Hepatocellular carcinoma