Exemplarily, gene-specific analyses of DNA methylation, mRNA and protein expression demonstrate lack of expression of the clinically important drug transporter OCT2 (encoded by SLC22A2) in cell lines due to hypermethylation compared to tumors or metastases.
We conclude that the expression pattern of OCT2, SSX2-4, and SAGE1 supports the origin of SS from spermatogonia and provides new evidence for heterogeneity of this tumour, potentially linked either to the cellular origin of SS or to partial differentiation during tumour progression, including a hitherto unknown OCT2-positive variant of the tumour likely derived from A(dark) spermatogonia.
Mouse splenic and thymic lymphocytes and tumor tissues were analyzed for the expression of cytokines involved in inflammatory and immune responses, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin 6 (IL-6), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and interleukin 12 (IL-12); for the activation of the transcription factors nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) and the B cell-specific transcription factor Oct-2; and for the activation of the Src and Syk family kinases, components of B-cell receptor-induced signal-transduction pathways.