Genomic and expression array profiling of chromosome 20q amplicon in human colon cancer cells

Background: Gain of the q arm of chromosome 20 in human colorectal cancer has been associated with poorer survival time and has been reported to increase in frequency from adenomas to metastasis. The increasing frequency of chromosome 20q amplification during colorectal cancer progression and the presence of this amplification in carcinomas of other tissue origin has lead us to hypothesize that 20q11-13 harbors one or more genes which, when over expressed promote tumor invasion and metastasis.
Aims: Generate genomic and expression profiles of the 20q amplicon in human cancer cell lines in order to identify genes with increased copy number and expression.
Materials and Methods: Utilizing genomic sequencing clones and amplification mapping data from our lab and other previous studies, BAC/ PAC tiling paths spanning the 20q amplicon and genomic microarrays were generated. Array-CGH on the custom array with human cancer cell line DNAs was performed to generate genomic profiles of the amplicon. Expression array analysis with RNA from these cell lines using commercial oligo microarrays generated expression profiles of the amplicon. The data were then combined in order to identify genes with increased copy number and expression.
Results: Over expressed genes in regions of increased copy number were identified and a list of potential novel genetic tumor markers was assembled based on biological functions of these genes
Conclusions: Performing high-resolution genomic microarray profiling in conjunction with expression analysis is an effective approach to identify potential tumor markers.