Gene expression profiles in lung cancer using cDNA array

基因芯片是一种强大的方法，可以快速分析在各种感兴趣的组织中差异表达的许多基因。到目前为止，我们使用基于Affymetrix寡核苷酸的cDNA阵列，观察了65个原发组织，并检测了肿瘤组织和正常肺组织之间的基因表达差异。在影响肺癌的分子途径中，我们观察到参与转化生长因子-β信号转导的基因持续下调。我们进一步观察到，Smad6和Smad7的缺失似乎与非小细胞肺癌患者肿瘤相关生存期的改善有关。目前正在进行使用siRNA技术的体外实验，以研究肺癌中Smad6失活的机制。我们还使用成熟的转化生长因子-β功能分析来检验它们在肺癌细胞和正常细胞之间的功能差异。

cDNA array is a powerful method that allows for rapid analysis of many genes differentially expressed in a variety of tissues of interest. Using Affymetrix oligo-nucleotide based cDNA arrays, we have so far surveyed 65 primary tissues and examined gene expression differences between the tumor and normal lung tissues. Among the molecular pathways affected in lung cancers, we observed a consistent down regulation of genes involved in the TGF-beta signaling. We further observed that the loss of SMAD6 and SMAD7 appeared to be correlated with an improved tumor-related survival in NSCLC patients. In vitro experiments using siRNA technology are currently underway to examine the mechanism of SMAD6 inactivation in lung tumors. We are also using well established assays of TGF-beta functions to examine their functional differences between the lung tumor and normal cells.