Expressions of cancer-related genes in human bone marrow-derived neural stem cells

Abstract

Objective To investigate the expression profile of cancer-related genes in human bone marrow-derived neural stem cells (Md-NSCs) to determine whether there are any characteristics that could help the evaluation of their tumorigenic potentials. Methods Md-NSCs were cultured in vitro and identified (experimental group); fresh human adult bone marrow cells were used as control group (sifting erythrocytes). The expression profiles of 440 cancer-related genes in cells from the two groups were analyzed by Oligo GEArray Human Cancer Microarray OHS-802; real-time quantitative PCR was performed to detect the expressions of oncogene MYC, matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2), Notch congener 2 (Notch2), stanniocalcin 1 (STC1), integrin α3 (ITGA3), signal transduction and transcriptional activation factor 5b (STAT5b), Ras congene gene family C (RhoC), and wingless-type MMTV integration site family member 1 (Wnt1). Results As compared with those in the control group, the Md-NSCs from experimental group had 66 tumor-related genes with high expressions (>3 folds). MYC, MMP2, Notch2, STC1, ITGA3, STAT5b, RhoC and Wnt1 expressions in the Md-NSCs from experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05), whose results were accorded with genechip detection results, enjoying the folds of 4.35×100, 2.84×100, 2.87×100, 3.41×102, 2.22×102, 6.99×100, 4.92×100 and 3.64×100, respectively. Conclusion A number of cancer-related genes are over-expressed in Md-NSCs, and the activations of some of these important oncogenes have been proved to promote human tumorigenesis. Key words: Neural stem cell; Cancer-related gene; Microarray; Tumorigenicity