Expression analysis on endothelial cells migrated into matrigel reconstituted with microfibrillar-associated protein 5 (MFAP5) protein

Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common form of cancer in women in the United States. Among different types of ovarian cancer, epithelial ovarian cancer is the most common and is highly lethal; however, prognostic and predictive markers, which can be used to predict chemoresponse and patient survival, have not been thoroughly explored. One critically important yet often overlooked component to the tumor progression process is the tumor microenvironment. Primarily composed of fibroblasts and extracellular matrix proteins (ECM) as well as endothelial cells and lymphocytic infiltrate, the tumor microenvironment has been shown to directly affect cell growth, migration, and differentiation through secreted proteins, cell-cell interactions and matrix remodeling (Tlsty and Coussens, 2006). The tumor microenvironment has the potential to promote tumor initiation of normal epithelial cells and facilitate progression of malignant cells, thereby, presenting a unique approach to diagnosing, understanding and treating cancer. Using a whole-genome oligonucleotide array platform to perform transcriptome profiling on the fibroblastic stromal component microdissected from a series of advanced stage high-grade serous ovarian adenocarcinomas, we identified a transcriptome signature for the ovarian cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF). We further functionally characterized one of the identified genes, MFAP5, and we showed that stromal MFAP5 is a prognostic marker associated with poor patient survival. In addition, to investigate the signaling mechanism and the effect of MFAP5 treatment on ovarian cancer angiogenesis, transcriptome profiling was performed on mouse endothelial cells migrated into matrigel reconstituted with recombinant MFAP5 protein. From an in vivo study, endothelial cells migrated into matrigel plugs reconstituted with or without recombinant MFAP5 proteins were harvested. Total RNA was isolated from control samples and MFAP5-treated samples. Followed by cDNA synthesis, IVT and biotin labeling, samples were then hybridized onto Affymetrix Mouse Genome 430 2.0 microarrays. For each treatment group, three independent samples were prepared for the microarray experiment.