Pcr method and kit for determining pathway activity

A method for designing primers and probes for the detection of the expression levels of target genes of a cellular signaling pathway suitable for determining the activity of the AR cellular signaling pathway and optionally one or more additional cellular signaling pathways, the method comprising:

• designing for a target gene of the AR cellular signaling pathway and optionally one or more additional cellular signaling pathway a forward primer and a reverse primer such that:
• the forward and reverse primer have a GC content between 35% and 69%, preferably between 35% and 65%;
• the forward and reverse primer have a melting temperature between 50 and 71 degrees Celsius, preferably between 58 and 64 degrees Celsius;
• the forward and reverse primer have a length between 16 and 25 nucleotides, preferably between 17 and 24 nucleotides;
• wherein the amplification product, when using the forward and reverse primers in a PCR amplification reaction, has a size between 60 and 240 base pairs, preferably between 65 and 150 base pairs, and preferably wherein the amplicon product is intron spanning;
• designing the probe such that:
• the probe used for detection of an amplification product comprises a binding part which is complementary to a part of the amplification product, the binding part further having the following characteristics:
• the binding part of the probe has a GC content between 35% and 69%, preferably between 40% and 60%;
• the binding part of the probe has a melting temperature between 56 and 72 degrees Celsius, preferably between 64 and 72 degrees Celsius;
• the binding part of the probe has a length between 17 and 31 nucleotides, preferably between 18 and 30 nucleotides;
• and
• the binding part of the probe does not have a G at the 5′ part.

A method of determining the AR cellular signaling pathway activity and optionally one or more additional cellular signaling pathway activity or activities, by simultaneously determining the expression level of six or more genes in a sample, the method comprising simultaneously amplifying six or more gene products using a polymerase chain reaction to generate a plurality of amplification products, followed by the detection of the plurality of amplification products using a plurality of probes,

• wherein the polymerase chain reaction uses, for each amplification product, a forward and a reverse primer which have the following characteristics:
• the forward and reverse primer have a GC content between 35% and 69%, preferably between 35% and 65%;
• the forward and reverse primer have a melting temperature between 50 and 71 degrees Celsius, preferably between 58 and 64 degrees Celsius;
• the forward and reverse primer have a length between 16 and 25 nucleotides, preferably between 17 and 24 nucleotides;
• wherein the amplification products have a size between 60 and 240 base pairs, preferably between 65 and 150 base pairs, and preferably wherein the amplicon product is intron spanning,
• wherein each of the probes used for detection of an amplification product comprises a binding part which is complementary to a part of the amplification product, the binding part further having the following characteristics:
• the binding part of the probe has a GC content between 35% and 69%, preferably between 40% and 60%;
• the binding part of the probe has a melting temperature between 56 and 72 degrees Celsius, preferably between 64 and 72 degrees Celsius;
• the binding part of the probe has a length between 17 and 31 nucleotides, preferably between 18 and 30 nucleotides;
• the binding part of the probe does not have a G at the 5′ part,
• wherein the expression levels are used in a method for determining the AR cellular signaling pathway and optionally one or more cellular signaling pathway activities selected from the group consisting of:
• WNT, HH, ER, PR, PR, TGFbeta, NFkB, STAT1/2, STAT3, PI3K-FOXO, Notch, MAPK-AP1, and
• wherein the primers and probes amplify and detect of the expression levels of three or more of the reference genes selected from:
• ACTB, ALAS1, B2M, EEF1A1 POLR2A, PUM1, RPLP0, TBP, TPT1 and TUBA1B, and
• wherein the primers and probes further amplify and detect the expression levels of three or more target genes for the AR cellular signaling pathway and optionally one or more cellular signaling pathways selected from the group consisting of:
• ER, PI3K-FOXO, MAPK-AP1, HH, Notch, TGFbeta, WNT, PR, NFkB, JAK-STAT1/2, JAK-STAT3,
• wherein the three or more target genes for the AR cellular signaling pathway are selected from the group consisting of:
• ABCC4, AR, CREB3L4, DHCR24, ELL2, FKBP5, GUCY1A3, KLK2, KLK3, LRIG1, NDRG1, NKX3.1 (also known as NKX3_1), PLAU, PMEPA1, PPAP2A, PRKACB 2, SGK1, and TMPRSS2;
• wherein the three or more target genes for the ER cellular signaling pathway are selected from the group consisting of:
• AP1B1, CA12, CDH26, CELSR2, CTSD, ERBB2, ESR1, GREB1, HSPB1, IGFBP4, MYC, NRIP1, PDZK1, PGR, RARA, SGK3, SOD1, TFF1, WISP2, and XBP1;
• the three or more target genes for the PI3K-FOXO cellular signaling pathway are selected from the group consisting of:
• AGRP, BCL2L11, BCL6, BNIP3, BTG1, CAT, CAV1, CCND1, CCNG2, CDKN1A, CDKN1B, ESR1, FBXO32, FOXO3, GADD45A, INSR, MXI1, SOD2, TNFSF10;
• wherein the three or more target genes for the MAPK-AP1 cellular signaling pathway are selected from the group consisting of:
• BCL2L11, CCND1, DDIT3, EGFR, ENPP2, EZR, GLRX, MMP1, MMP3, MMP9, PLAU, PLAUR, PTGS2, SERPINE1, TIMP1, TP53, VEGFD, and VIM;
• wherein the three or more target genes for the Notch cellular signaling pathway are selected from the group consisting of:
• CD44, EPHB3, FABP7, HES1, HES4, HES5, HEY1, HEY2, MYC, NOX1, NRARP, PIN1, PLXND1, and SOX9;
• wherein the three or more target genes for the HH cellular signaling pathway are selected from the group consisting of:
• CFLAR, FOXM1, FYN, GLI1, HHIP, MYCN, NKX2-2, PTCH1, PTCH2, RAB34, SPP1, TCEA2, and TSC22D1;
• wherein the three or more target genes for the TGFbeta cellular signaling pathway are selected from the group consisting of:
• ANGPTL4, CDKN1A, CTGF, GADD45A, GADD45B, ID1, IL11, JUNB, MMP2, MMP9, PDGFB, SERPINE1, SGK1, SKIL, SMAD4, SMAD7, SNAI1, TIMP1, and VEGFA;
• wherein the three or more target genes for the WNT cellular signaling pathway are selected from the group consisting of:
• CEMIP, AXIN2, CD44, RNF43, MYC, TBX3, TDGF1, SOX9, ASCL2, CXCL8, SP5, ZNRF3, EPHB2, LGR5, EPHB3, KLF6, CCND1, DEFA6, and FZD7;
• wherein the three or more target genes for the PR cellular signaling pathway are selected from the group consisting of:
• AGRP, BCL2L11, BCL6, BNIP3, BTG1, CAT, CAV1, CCND1, CCND2, CCNG2, CDKN1A, CDKN1B, ESR1, FASLG, FBXO32, GADD45A, INSR, MXI1, NOS3, PCK1, POMC, PPARGC1A, PRDX3, RBL2, SOD2 and TNFSF10;
• wherein the three or more target genes for the NFkB cellular signaling pathway are selected from the group consisting of:
• BIRC3, CCL3, CCL4, CCL5, CCL20, CXCL2, ICAM1, IL6, IRF1, MMP9, NFKB2, PTGS2, TNF, TNIP1, TRAF1, and VCAM1;
• wherein the three or more target genes for the JAK-STAT1/2 cellular signaling pathway are selected from the group consisting of:
• APOL1, BID, CXCL9, GBP1, GNAZ, IFI6, IFIT2, IFITM1, IRF1, IRF7, IRF9, ISG15, LY6E, OAS1, PDCD1, RFPL3, SSTR3, STAT1, TAP1 and USP18;
• wherein the three or more target genes for the JAK-STAT3 cellular signaling pathway are selected from the group consisting of:
• AKT1, BCL2, BCL2L1, BIRC5, CCND1, CD274, CDKNIA, CRP, FGF2, FOS, FSCN1, FSCN2, FSCN3, HIFIA, HSP90AA1, HSP90AB1, HSP90B1, HSPA1A, HSPA1B, ICAM1, IFNG, IL10, JunB, MCL1, MMP1, MMP3, MMP9, MUC1, MYC, NOS2, POU2F1, PTGS2, SAA1, STAT1, TIMP1, TNFRSF1B, TWIST1, VIM and ZEB1,
• wherein the primers and probes are able to amplify and detect the respective genes under the following reaction conditions:
• 50 mM monovalent salt;
• 400 nM forward primer
• 400 nM reverse primer
• 3.0 mM divalent salt, preferably the divalent salt being Mg2+;
• 100 nM probe;
• and
• 0.8 mM dNTP.