Testing an Aflatoxin B1 Gene Signature in Rat Archival Tissues

Archival tissues from laboratory studies represent a unique opportunity to explore the relationship between genomic changes and agent-induced disease. In this study, we evaluated the applicability of qPCR for detecting genomic changes in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues by determining if a subset of 14 genes from a 90-gene signature derived from microarray data and associated with eventual tumor development could be detected in archival liver, kidney, and lung of rats exposed to aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) for 90 days in feed at 1 ppm. These tissues originated from the same rats used in the microarray study. The 14 genes evaluated were Adam8, Cdh13, Ddit4l, Mybl2, Akr7a3, Akr7a2, Fhit, Wwox, Abcb1b, Abcc3, Cxcl1, Gsta5, Grin2c and C8orf46 homolog. The qPCR FFPE liver results were compared to the original liver microarray data and to qPCR results using RNA from fresh frozen liver. Archival liver paraffin blocks yielded 30 to 50 μg of degraded RNA that ranged in size from 0.1 to 4 kB. qPCR results from FFPE and fresh frozen liver samples were positively correlated (p≤0.05) by regression analysis and showed good agreement in direction and proportion of change with microarray data for 11 of 14 genes. All 14 transcripts could be amplified from FFPE kidney RNA except the glutamate receptor gene Grin2c; however, only Abcb1b was significantly upregulated from control. Abundant constitutive transcripts, S18 and β-actin, could be amplified from lung FFPE samples, but the narrow RNA size range (25–500 bp length) prevented consistent detection of target transcripts. Overall, a discrete gene signature derived from prior transcript profiling and representing cell cycle progression, DNA damage response, and xenosensor and detoxication pathways was successfully applied to archival liver and kidney by qPCR and indicated that gene expression changes in response to subchronic AFB1 exposure occurred predominantly in liver, the primary target for AFB1-induced tumors. We conclude that an evaluation of gene signatures in archival tissues can be an important toxicological tool for evaluating critical molecular events associated with chemical exposures.