RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To screen and verify differentially expressed genes in prostate cancer. METHODS: Using DNA microarray, we screened differentially expressed genes in prostate cancer tissue and its adjacent tissue followed by verification by PCR. RESULTS: A total of 1 444 genes were found to be differentially expressed (differentiation ≥ 1.5-fold; P≤ 0.05) in the prostate cancer tissue, of which 769 (53%) were up-regulated and 675 (47%) down-regulated. Fifty percent of the differentially expressed genes showed a 1.5- to 2-fold differentiation, including 396 up-regulated and 182 down-regulated ones. Additionally, 308 up-regulated and 334 down-regulated genes exhibited a >2- to 5-fold, 46 up-regulated and 78 down-regulated genes a > 5- to 10-fold, and 19 up-regulated and 81 down-regulated genes a > 10-fold differentiation. Verification by subjecting 15 most significantly up-regulated and another 15 most markedly down-regulated genes to quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) showed that most of the genes had a transcriptional profile similar to that in the microarray data, with a Pearson correction coefficient of 0.83 between the microarray data and qRT-PCR results. Totally, 10 significantly differentially expressed genes were identified. CONCLUSION: DNA microarray analysis provides reliable information on differentially expressed genes in prostate cancer and benign tissues. The 10 significantly differentially expressed genes verified by qRT-PCR could possibly become new bio-markers and specific molecules for tumor identification.