Gene expression profiling in Barrett's esophagus and cardia intestinal metaplasia: A comparative analysis using cDNA microarray

AIM: To study the difference of gene expression profile changes in Barrett's esophagus (BE) and cardia intestinal metaplasia (CIM) and to screen the novel genes in the early stage by cDNA microarray. METHODS: cDNA retrotranscribed from an equal amount of mRNA from BE and CIM epithelial tissues was labeled with Cy3 and Cy5 fluorescence as probes. The mixed probe was hybridized with three pieces of BiostarH-40 s double dot human whole gene chip. The chips were scanned with a ScanArray 4000. The acquired images were analyzed using GenePix Pro 3.0 software. RESULTS: A total of 141 genes were screened out that exhibited different expression in all three chips. There were 74 upregulated and 67 downregulated genes in gene expression profiles of BE which were two times of that in CIM. CONCLUSION: There is a difference in gene expression level between BE and CIM epithelia. These 141 genes probably relate to the occurrence and development of BE and the progression to adenocarcinoma.