Expression analysis of tumor-related genes involved in critical regulatory pathways in schwannomas

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Gene expression array analysis is providing key data on the potential candidate genes and biological pathways involved in schwannoma origin and development. In this way we performed expression array studies on tumor-related genes in schwannomas. METHODS: The GE Array Q Series HS-006 (SuperArray, Bethesda, MD, USA) was used to determine the expression levels of 96 genes corresponding to 6 primary biological regulatory pathways in a series of 23 schwannomas. RESULTS: We identified 15 genes down-regulated, primarily corresponding to signal transduction functions, and 26 genes up-regulated, most frequently involving cell adhesion functions. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to the NF2 inactivation (considered as an early step), variations of other biological regulatory pathways might play a key role in schwannoma (AU)