Interrogation of Chromosome 13q12-14 in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Previous studies of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) suggested chromosome region 13q12-14 harbors a familial ESCC gene. DNA sequencing of the BRCA2 gene, located on 13q12, showed evidence of both germline and tumor specific alterations but the frequency of changes was low and did not fit the classic Knudsen two-hit gene inactivation model. To further investigate chromosome 13q12-14 in ESCC, quantitative expression measurements were performed on BRCA2 and 11 neighboring genes in matched normal epithelium and tumor from 17 cases. Transcript analysis showed normal levels of five genes, tumor down-regulation of two genes (TNFRS19 and TPT1), and tumor upregulation of five genes, including BRCA2. No evidence of BRCA2 loss-of-function was detected based on reduced mRNA in tumor cells. Between 13q12.3 (KATNAL1) and 13q12.3-q13 (CCNA1) five adjacent genes showed increased mRNA expression raising the possibility of a DNA amplicon; however, qPCR analysis showed normal DNA amounts in this region. CCNA1 transcript was significantly up-regulated in tumors and was thus further interrogated at the protein level by immunohistochemistry. CCNA1 staining was restricted to normal basal epithelium and was not expressed in more superficial, differentiated regions. In contrast, the CCNA1 protein was ubiquitously and highly expressed throughout tumor foci. Overall, these data from a relatively small number of cases (17) suggest that TNFRS19 and TPT1 deserve further investigation as candidate tumor suppressor genes in esophageal cancer in a larger patient series; BRCA2 mRNA is increased in the tumors, likely as a compensatory response to the marked DNA damage that is present in these lesions; and, CCNA1 was identified as a novel up-regulated gene in ESCC.