Figure 1

BMP receptor expression in normal human OSE and human ovarian cancer cells. Northern blot analysis was performed on total RNA isolated from early-passage primary cultures of normal human OSE cells (OSE3, OSE18, OSE22, and OSE23), primary human EOC cells (EOC13, EOC14, EOC16, EOC28, and EOC32), and three established human ovarian cancer cell lines (CaOV3, SkOV3, and OVCA429) using probes specific for ALK3, ALK6, and BMPR2 mRNA. ALK3 and BMPR2 mRNA expression was readily detectable (24 h exposure) in all samples analysed, whereas ALK6 mRNA expression was observed only in ovarian cancer cell lines after an extended period of time (8 d exposure). Expression of all three BMP receptors was elevated in the three cell lines versus the primary cultures; however, there was no mean difference in receptor expression between primary cultures of OSE and EOC cells.