Identification of cathepsin K in the peritoneal metastasis of ovarian carcinoma using in-silico, gene expression analysis

Ovarian carcinomas (OC) are often found in the advanced stage with wide peritoneal dissemination. Differentially-expressed genes (DEGs) between primary ovarian carcinoma (POC) and peritoneal metastatic ovarian carcinomas (PMOC) may have diagnostic and therapeutic values. In this study, we identified 246 DEGs by in-silico analysis using microarrays for 153 POCs and 57 PMOCs. Pathway analysis shows that many of these genes are associated with lipid metabolism. Microfluidic, card-based, quantitative PCR validated 19 DEGs in PMOCs versus POCs (p<0.05). Immunohistochemistry confirmed overexpression of MMP13, CTSK, FGF1 and GREM1 in PMOCs (p<0.05). ELISA detection indicated that serum CTSK levels were significantly increased in OCs versus controls (p<0.001). CTSK levels discriminated between OCs and healthy controls (ROC 0.739; range 0.685-0.793). Combining CA125 and HE4 with CTSK levels produced an improved specificity in the predictive of OCs (sensitivity 88.3%, specificity 92.0%, Youden's index 80.3%). Our study suggests that CTSK levels may be helpful in the diagnosis of primary, ovarian carcinoma.