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Molecular Oncology, Markers, Clinical Correlates |
Molecular Biology Laboratory, Department of Clinical Chemistry [B. A. W., S. N., A. P., I. J. v W., C. B. M. O.], Department of Pathology [R. D. M. S., M. E.], and Department of Pulmonology [R. H. J. B.], VU University Medical Center, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| ABSTRACT |
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Experimental Design: The HASH1-positive NE cell line NCI-H187 was compared with the non-NE cell line NCI-N417 by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR. Signals were normalized using the housekeeping gene PBGD, which is pseudogene free. Subsequently, HASH1 expression in RNA isolated from biopsies from SCLC patients (n = 4) was compared with biopsies from non-SCLC (NSCLC) patients (n = 2) or normal bronchus (n = 2).
Results: The HASH1-positive NE cell line NCI-H187 showed 50,000-fold higher normalized expression of HASH1 than did the non-NE cell line NCI-N417, indicating that the method is applicable over a wide dynamic range. Normalized average mRNA expression levels in SCLC clinical samples were 1,000-fold higher than in the NSCLC samples. Expression in normal bronchus was comparable to the expression levels in the NSCLC.
Conclusions: These results show that marked and measurable differences exist between SCLCs and other lung tissues (either NSCLC or normal bronchus). We show that the method is applicable to small biopsy samples and can discriminate SCLC from NSCLC. This method could contribute to diagnosis based on molecular profiling of tumors.
| INTRODUCTION |
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In normal lung tissue, HASH1 expression is restricted to epithelial bronchial NE cells. HASH1 expression is strongly increased in lung cancers with NE features, especially in SCLC, the most lethal form of lung cancer (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) . In addition, NSCLCs and bronchial carcinoid show expression of HASH1 that correlates with NE features. Loss of NE features is correlated with loss of HASH1 expression, which shows that constitutive HASH1 expression is obligatory for maintaining the NE phenotype (7) . In contrast, terminal differentiation of neurons shows a down-regulation of HASH1 expression in fetal neuroblasts and terminally differentiated neuroblastoma tumors, showing the presence of a different role of HASH1 in this context (7) . Because HASH1 expression has proven to be a good marker for tumor progression of NE tumors, reliable methods are needed to analyze HASH1 expression in clinical samples.
Quantitative RT-PCR permits quantification of mRNA expression levels in malignant specimens for which the amount of tissue is limited. Because the expression of transcription factors such as HASH1 in tissue specimens is low, quantification techniques such as Northern blot analysis (3) or RNase protection assays, which have been used until now, cannot be used. In this study, we describe the development and use of a real-time quantitative RT-PCR with hybridization probes (8) , which makes it possible to determine the progression stage of pulmonary NE tumors in a highly sensitive way using limited amounts of tissue.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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Samples of SCLC (n = 4), NSCLC (n = 2), and normal lung tissue (n = 2), consisting of normal bronchus, were collected by the Department of Pathology and Pulmonology and immediately frozen after biopsy. A pathologist performed histological examination of the stained tissue sections. Tissues were stored in liquid nitrogen. For each RNA isolation, 10 serial sections of 20 µm were cut and processed immediately. The first and last sections were H&E stained.
Isolation of Total RNA.
Total RNA was isolated from both cultured cells and tissue sections by RNAzol B (Campro Scientific) as described previously (10)
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Generation of Reference cRNA by in Vitro Transcription.
RT-PCR was performed in the Superscript II (RNase H-negative) One Step RT-PCR System (Life Technologies) as described previously (10)
. Primers and annealing temperatures are listed in Table 1
. Gel purification of PCR products was performed using the QIAquick Gel Extraction Kit protocol, and isolated bands of PBGD and HASH1 were subsequently cloned into pPCR-Script Amp SK(+) (Stratagene) and pGEMT (Promega) vectors, respectively. Vectors were sequenced in an ABI 310 Genetic Analyzer (Perkin-Elmer) with Big Dye terminator reactions in combination with gene-specific primers. GenBank Accession numbers for the sequences used were HASH1 DNA sequence NT_009439 and mRNA sequence NM_004316 and PBGD human DNA sequence M95623 and mRNA sequence NM_000190. Plasmids were purified with the Maxiprep anion-exchange procedure (Qiagen). In vitro transcription of cRNA (Promega) was performed according to the manufacturers instructions. The in vitro-transcribed RNA (5 µg) was purified by denaturing gel electrophoresis (5% polyacrylamide-8 M urea), followed by band isolation. The gel fragment containing the RNA was cut out, and the RNA was eluted overnight at 37°C in 200 µl of buffer [1x transcription buffer (Promega), 20 units of RQ1 DNase, 0.4 units/µl RNasin]. After the tubes were centrifuged for 4 min at 14,000 x g, the supernatant containing the RNA was removed, transferred to a clean tube, and ethanol-precipitated to further cleanup and concentrate the RNA. The samples were stored at -80°C. PCR was performed to check for DNA contamination.
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| RESULTS |
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PBGD mRNA Expression Is Equal in Different SCLC Cell Lines.
The standard curve was used as an absolute quantification reference for quantification of the internal control PBGD mRNA in total RNA of the cell lines NCI-H187 and NCI-N417. As is shown in Fig. 2C
, comparable amounts of PBGD were found when both cell lines were analyzed. The mRNA expression level in cell line NCI-N417 had an average of 3 x 106 copies/0.5 µg of total RNA, and for NCI-H187 the expression average was 5 x 106 copies/0.5 µg of total RNA. All observed values were within the linear range of the standard curve. The variations between samples were between a factor 2 and 5 and are likely to reflect differences in metabolic activities at the time when the cells were harvested.
HASH1 mRNA Is Up-Regulated in the NE Cell Line NCI-H187.
To evaluate the mRNA expression of HASH1 in SCLC cell lines, a positive NE cell line was used (NCI-H187) and compared with the non-NE SCLC cell line (NCI-N417); NCI-H187 and NCI-N417 have high and a low HASH1 expression, respectively (1
, 9)
. The average HASH1 mRNA expression level in cell line NCI-N417 was 1.2 x 102 copies/0.5 µg of total RNA, and for NCI-H187 the average HASH1 expression was 4.1 x 107 copies/0.5 µg of total RNA (Fig. 2D)
. The observed result for the NCI-H187 cell line was within the linear range of the standard curve; however, the observed result for NCI-N417 was near the detection level and false-negative values were observed. There was a relatively small variation in expression levels between samples of different isolation dates, comparable to the variations seen in PBGD expression levels.
Normalized HASH1 mRNA levels are shown in Fig. 2E
. Normalized average mRNA expression levels were 1.8 x 107 copies/0.5 µg of total RNA for cell line NCI-H187 and 3.3 x 102 copies/0.5 µg of total RNA for cell line NCI-N417. This indicates that the difference in normalized HASH1 mRNA expression between both cell lines is at least a factor of 50,000.
HASH1 Can Be Measured in Clinical Samples and Is Highly Expressed in SCLC Tissues.
The method described above was used to quantify HASH1 mRNA in clinical samples. For this, RNA isolated from SCLC tissues (n = 4) was used and compared with either NSCLC tissue (n = 2) or normal bronchus (n = 2). High HASH1 expression levels were found in all SCLC tissues (Fig. 3A)
, when compared with the levels in NSCLC and normal bronchus (Fig. 3B)
. The normalized average mRNA expression level in SCLC clinical samples was 2.0 x 106 copies/100 ng of total RNA. In the NSCLC samples, the average normalized expression was 1000-fold lower, i.e., 1.7 x 103 copies/100 ng of total RNA. The expression in normal bronchus was comparable to the expression levels in the NSCLC, and as such at least 1000-fold lower than in SCLC. These results show that marked and measurable differences exist between SCLCs and other lung tissues (either NSCLC or normal bronchus).
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| DISCUSSION |
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HASH1 mRNA signals were normalized using the housekeeping gene PBGD, which is a pseudogene-free housekeeping gene and has minimal transcriptional variability among tissues (11 , 12) . For amplification of PBGD as well as HASH1, a linear range that spans a region of 107 orders of magnitude was obtained. This allows determination of copy numbers of low-abundance genes, which are expected to be in a range of 0.3 to 1 x 105 copies when 100 ng of RNA are used as input. The positive NE control cell line NCI-H187 showed 50,000-fold higher normalized mRNA expression of HASH1 than did the non-NE cell line NCI-N417, indicating that the method is applicable over a wide dynamic range.
Until now, the expression levels of HASH1 in classic SCLC NE tumors were assayed by Northern blot analysis, and large amounts of poly(A) RNA (25 µg) were required because of the relatively low detection level of the method (3) . These high amounts of poly(A) RNA can be obtained only from cultured cell lines or large tumors. The same is true for the RNase protection analysis, which requires similar high amounts of RNA. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR, as described here, allows quantification of transcription factor expression levels, using limited amounts of total RNA (100500 ng), thus enabling quantification with limited amounts of tissue, such as clinical samples. Normalized average HASH1 mRNA expression levels in SCLC clinical samples were 1000-fold higher than in both NSCLC tissue and normal bronchus.
Recently, a member of the Snail family of transcription factors, Scratch 1, has been shown to be correlated with HASH1 expression in NE tumors (4) . The Snail family of transcription factors is involved in cell migration, which might suggest that the increased HASH1 expression contributes to the invasive phenotype of SCLC cells. These data further support the model that SCLC is derived from a lung epithelial precursor commitment to the pathway of NE cell differentiation, as claimed by Borges et al. (1) and that HASH1 contributes to the aggressive phenotype.
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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| FOOTNOTES |
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1 This research was funded by KWF Grant VU-99-1993. ![]()
2 To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at Molecular Biology Laboratory, Department of Clinical Chemistry, VU University Medical Center, de Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Phone: 31-20-4443867; Fax: 31-20-4443895; E-mail: cbm.oudejans{at}vumc.nl ![]()
3 The abbreviations used are: NE, neuroendocrine; HASH1, human achaete-scute homologue 1; SCLC, small cell lung carcinoma; NSCLC, non-SCLC; RT-PCR, reverse transcription-PCR; PBGD, porphobilinogen deaminase. ![]()
Received 9/28/01; revised 1/ 3/02; accepted 1/28/02.
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