Mouse Hepatocellular Carcinoma Study

Genetically modified mice have been extensively used for analyzing the molecular events that occur during the tumor development. However, in many cases, if not all, it is uncertain to what extent the mouse models reproduce features observed in the corresponding human conditions. This is due largely to lack of precise methods for direct and comprehensive comparison at the molecular level of the mouse and human tumors. We used global gene expression patterns of 68 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) from 7 different mouse models and 91 human HCC from pre-defined subclasses to obtain direct comparison of the molecular features of mouse and human HCC. Total RNAs were isolated from frozen liver tissue using CsCl density gradient centrifugation methods. Total RNA from the livers of 10 wild type mice were pooled and used as reference in entire microarray experiments. To obtain gene expression profile data from four transgenic HCC mouse models, 20 μg of total RNAs from tissues were used to drive fluorescently (Cy-5 or Cy-3) labeled cDNA. At least two hybridizations were carried out for each tissue using dye-swap strategy to eliminate dye labeling bias. Keywords: other