A subset of co-expressed genes in Slug-based cancer mesenchymal transition signature remains coexpressed in normal samples in a tissue-specific manner

Abstract

A recently identified gene expression signature of EMT markers containing the transcription factor Slug was found present in samples from many publicly available cancer gene expression datasets of multiple cancer types except leukemia. We also found many of these genes co-expressed in human cancer xenografted cells, but not in mouse stroma cells, suggesting that the signature is largely produced by cancer cells undergoing some type of EMT. Here we report that a partial signature consisting of a subset of the co-expressed genes of the full signature, including at least Slug (SNAI2), collagens COL1A1, COL1A2, COL3A1, COL6A3 and genes DCN and LUM, is also present in leukemia, in which case it is also strongly associated with the chemokine CXCL12 (aka SDF1). The same subset of co-expressed genes is also strongly present even in normal samples in a tissue-specific manner, with lowest expression in brain tissues and highest expression in reproductive system tissues. The full signature, with prominent presence of COL11A1, THBS2 and INHBA appears to be triggered in solid cancers particularly when cancer cells encounter adipocytes.