Gene microarray was used to characterize the molecular environment of leiomyoma and matched myometrium during growth and in response to GnRH analog (GnRHa) therapy as well as GnRHa direct action on primary cultures of leiomyoma and myometrial smooth muscle cells (LSMC and MSMC). Unsupervised and supervised analysis of gene expression values and statistical analysis in R programming with a false discovery rate of P ≤ 0.02 resulted in identification of 153 and 122 differentially expressed genes in leiomyoma and myometrium in untreated and GnRHa-treated cohorts, respectively. The expression of 170 and 164 genes was affected by GnRHa therapy in these tissues compared with their respective untreated group. GnRHa (0.1 μm), in a time-dependent manner (2, 6, and 12 h), targeted the expression of 281 genes (P ≤ 0.005) in LSMC and MSMC, 48 of which genes were found in common with GnRHa-treated tissues. Functional annotations assigned these genes as key regulators of processes involving transcription, translational, signal transduction, structural activities, and apoptosis. We validated the expression of IL-11, early growth response 3, TGF-β-induced factor, TGF-β-inducible early gene response, CITED2 (cAMP response element binding protein-binding protein/p300-interacting transactivator with ED-rich tail), Nur77, growth arrest-specific 1, p27, p57, and G protein-coupled receptor kinase 5, representing cytokine, common transcription factors, cell cycle regulators, and signal transduction, at tissue levels and in LSMC and MSMC in response to GnRHa time-dependent action using real-time PCR, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. In conclusion, using different, complementary approaches, we characterized leiomyoma and myometrium molecular fingerprints and identified several previously unrecognized genes as targets of GnRHa action, implying that local expression and activation of these genes may represent features differentiating leiomyoma and myometrial environments during growth and GnRHa-induced regression.
Induction of the Angiogenic Modulator Fibroblast Growth Factor-binding Protein by Epidermal Growth Factor Is Mediated through Both MEK/ERK and p38 Signal Transduction Pathways