Identification of TNM stage-specific genes in lung adenocarcinoma by genome-wide expression profiling

The present study aimed to investigate the molecular basis of lung cancer development using a microarray to identify the differentially-expressed genes associated with the various tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stages of lung adenocarcinoma. This subtype of lung cancer has increased in incidence within recent years in China. A 35K oligo gene array covering ~25,100 genes was used to screen the differentially-expressed genes among 90 lung adenocarcinoma samples of various TNM stages. To verify the data from the gene arrays, three genes [human zinc finger-containing, Miz1, PIAS-like protein on chromosome 7 (Zimp7), GINS complex subunit 2 (GINS2) and NSAID activated gene 1 (NAG-1)] were validated using quantitative (q)PCR in an alternative set of samples to the gene array. A total of 640 genes were identified that were differentially-expressed in lung adenocarcinoma compared with the surrounding normal lung tissues. From these 640 candidate genes, 10 were observed to be differentially-expressed among TNM stages I, II and IIIA, of which, the Zimp7, GINS2 and NAG-1 genes were reported for the first time to be expressed at high levels in lung adenocarcinoma. The results of the qPCR for the three genes were consistent with those from the gene array. In total, 10 candidate genes were identified to be associated with the various TNM stages of lung adenocarcinoma in the population studied, which may provide new insights into the molecular basis underlying the development of lung adenocarcinoma and offer new targets for the diagnosis, therapy and prognosis.