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Differential expression of p73 splice variants and protein in benign and malignant ovarian tumours
Author(s) -
Zwahlen Daniel,
Tschan Mario P.,
Grob Tobias J.,
Peters Uwe R.,
Fink Daniel,
Haenggi Willy,
Altermatt Hans J.,
Cajot JeanFrançois,
Tobler Andreas,
Fey Martin F.,
Aebi Stefan
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0215(20001001)88:1<66::aid-ijc10>3.0.co;2-y
Subject(s) - ovarian cancer , biology , messenger rna , cancer research , alternative splicing , splice , adenoma , ovary , adenocarcinoma , gene , gene isoform , rna splicing , ovarian carcinoma , gene expression , tumor suppressor gene , cancer , pathology , rna , carcinogenesis , medicine , endocrinology , genetics
The p73 gene encodes a protein with substantial structural and functional similarities to the tumour‐suppressor p53. Alternative splicing of p73 mRNA leads to expression of 6 known RNA species and proteins (α, β, γ, δ, ϵ, ζ). We analysed the expression of these splice variants in ovarian adenocarcinoma by RT‐PCR followed by detection of amplicons with the Southern technique and by immunoblot in 32 malignant and benign epithelial ovarian tumour specimens and 3 ovarian adenocarcinoma cell lines (A2780, 2008, OVCAR‐3). p73 α mRNA was expressed in all 17 ovarian cancer specimens, and 14 of 17 expressed at least 3 splice variants. In contrast, a different expression pattern was present in the ovarian adenomas: p73 α was detected in 6 of 12 benign tumours, and only 1 adenoma expressed 3 splice variants. p73 protein was expressed in 9 of 16 ovarian cancer specimens, in all cell lines and in 1 of 3 borderline tumours. In contrast, none of 9 ovarian adenomas expressed detectable amounts of p73 protein. Expression of p73 mRNA and protein was not correlated with FIGO stage and histological grade, but we observed a significant correlation with over‐expression of p53 protein. In summary, epithelial ovarian cancers express a more complex p73 isoform pattern and higher levels of p73 mRNA and protein than ovarian adenomas. Int. J. Cancer 88:66–70, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.