Anti-NEFH monoclonal antibody, clone TNJ-47

BACKGROUND: Esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (ESCCs) tend to have multiple primary lesions, and it is believed that they arise from background mucosae with accumulation of genetic/epigenetic alterations. In this study, the objective was to elucidate the effects of smoking and drinking on the accumulation of epigenetic alterations in background mucosae. METHODS: Genes that are silenced in human ESCCs were searched for by treating 3 ESCC cell lines with the demethylating agent, 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine and performing oligonucleotide microarrays. Methylation levels were analyzed by quantitative methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction analysis of 60 ESCCs and their corresponding background mucosae. RESULTS: Forty-seven genes were identified as methylation-silenced in at least 1 of the 3 ESCC cell lines, and 14 of those genes (claudin 6 [CLDN6]; G protein-coupled receptor 158 [GPR158]; homeobox A9 [HOXA9]: metallothionein 1M [MT1M]; neurofilament, heavy polypeptide 200 kDa [NEFH]; plakophilin 1 [PKP1]; protein phosphatase 1, regulatory [inhibitor] subunit 14A [PPP1R14A]; pyrin domain and caspase recruitment domain containing [PYCARD]; R-spondin family, member 4 [RSPO4]; testis-specific protein, Y-encoded-like S [TSPYL5]; ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal esterase L1 [UCHL1]; zinc-finger protein 42 homolog [ZFP42]; zinc-finger protein interacting with K protein I homolog [ZIK1]; and zinc-finger and SCAN domain containing 18 [ZSCAN18]) were used as markers, In the background mucosae, methylation levels of 5 genes (HOXA9, MT1M, NEFH, RSPO4, and UCHL1) had significant correlations with smoking duration (rho = .268; P = .044; rho = .405; P = .002; rho = .285; P = .032; rho = .300; P = .024; and rho = .437; P = .001, respectively). In contrast, an inverse correlation between PYCARD methylation levels and alcohol intake was observed (rho = -.334, P = .025) among individuals with the inactive aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) genotype, CONCLUSIONS: The current results suggested that ESCCs developed from an epigenetic field for cancerization, which was induced by exposure to carcinogenic factors, such as tobacco smoking. The epigenetic field defect will be a novel target for risk diagnosis and prevention of ESCCs. Cancer 2009;115:3412-26. (C) 2009 American Cancer Society.

Extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma (EMC) is a rare mesenchymal neoplasm, rarely reported in the genitourinary tract with only 5 cases reported in the vulva. We investigated 2 cases of vulvar sarcomas whose morphologic appearance and immunohistochemical profiles were consistent with EMC using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction, and a whole genome expression array. FISH and reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction assays showed no EWSR1 and NR4A3 loci rearrangements. Microarray-based analysis also revealed no changes in NR4A3 and EWSR1 gene transcription levels. Microarray data showed a significant downregulation of the muscle-related genes (eg, myosin heavy chain family, actins, myoglobin, desmin, creatine kinase, troponins) and cytokeratins (KRT6A, 6B, 13, 14, and 78), upregulation of several neuron-specific genes [neural cell adhesion molecule 1 (NCAM-1/CD56), neurofilament (NEFH)], along with some well-characterized tumor biomarkers [carbonic anhydrase IX (CA-9), topoisomerase II alpha (TOP2A), matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-7, MMP-9), CDKN2 gene (p16-INK4a), checkpoint homolog 2 (CHEK2)]. Notably, both tumors showed upregulation of the pleomorphic adenoma gene 1 (PLAG1), and in 1 case PLAG1 gene rearrangement was detected by break-apart FISH. Some vulvar tumors with morphologic and immunohistochemical characteristics of EMC may represent a molecular genetic entity separate from EMCs arising in other locations. PLAG1 gene activation appears to be involved in the development of these neoplasms.