Expression data from normal breast tissues and invasive primary breast carcinoma tissues

The role of lymphangiogenesis in tumor metastasis remains unclear. This study addressed this issue in lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) derived from primary invasive breast cancer specimens. LECs were isolated by laser capture microdissection and gene expression was profiled by microarray analysis. To analyze global gene expression patterns in LECs derived from primary invasive breast tumors, we compared gene expression profiles between fresh human normal mammary glands (N4 and N5) and primary invasive breast tumors (BL1 and B14). Specimens were dissected, and rapid immunochemical staining of lymphatic-specific markers, FLT-4 and LYVE-1, was used to identify lymphatic endothelium. Homogenous LECs were separated directly in situ by laser capture microdissection. Intact RNA was extracted, and the RNA samples were used for subsequent GeneChip probe microarrays.