Differential expression of the <i>SLC34A2</i> gene in different histological subtypes of ovarian carcinomas

BACKGROUND: Patients with ovarian carcinoma exhibit varying degrees of sensitivity to chemotherapy. Consequently, enhancing the effectiveness of treatment requires a comprehensive evaluation of tumor characteristics, including the histological subtype. AIM: To identify novel molecular markers of ovarian cancer by analyzing the expression of candidate genes, namely, BAX, SLC34A2, MUC16, CD300A, and XKR8, in ovarian carcinomas of different histological subtypes. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to analyze BAX, SLC34A2, MUC16, CD300A, and XKR8 gene expressions in 33 carcinomas, considering histological subtypes. Tumor samples from patients with ovarian carcinoma were obtained from the Blokhin National Medical Research Center of Oncology (Moscow) and Republican Clinical Oncological Dispensary (Kazan). The samples were divided into three groups according to histological subtype: high-grade (n = 16) or low-grade (n = 6) serous ovarian carcinomas, endometrioid ovarian carcinomas (n = 8), and mucinous ovarian carcinomas (n = 3). Further analysis was performed using microarray data from the Gene Expression Omnibus database to determine the expression levels of selected candidate genes in various ovarian carcinoma histological subtypes of ovarian carcinomas. The dataset included 4 samples of normal ovaries and 95 samples of ovarian carcinomas of different histological subtypes, including serous (n = 41), endometrioid (n = 37), and mucinous (n = 13) subtypes. Statistical data analysis was conducted using Prism software. Nonparametric Dunn’s test was employed to compare gene expression among patient groups. RESULTS: Low-grade serous ovarian carcinomas demonstrated increased SLC34A2 gene expression (p = 0.0257) compared with mucinous ovarian carcinomas. Additionally, bioinformatic analysis revealed increased SLC34A2 gene expression in serous (p = 0.0023) and endometrioid (p = 0.0355) ovarian carcinomas compared with normal ovarian tissues. CONCLUSION: The SLC34A2 gene may be used as a molecular marker to differentiate histological subtypes of ovarian cancer and therapeutic target for low-grade serous ovarian carcinoma.