Lysyl oxidase-like 4 is alternatively spliced in an anatomic site-specific manner in tumors involving the serosal cavities.

Lysyl oxidase-like enzymes (LOXL) are expressed in various cancers. We analyzed the expression of LOXL2, LOXL3, and LOXL4 in cancers involving the serosal cavities-breast carcinoma, ovarian carcinoma, and malignant mesothelioma using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. We discovered two new alternative splice variants of LOXL4. The spliced segments were exon 9 (splice variant 1) or both exons 8 and 9 (splice variant 2). In ovarian carcinoma, splice variant 1 was significantly elevated in effusions compared to solid lesions (p < 0.001). Splice variant 2 appeared only in effusions. In breast carcinoma, LOXL4 was expressed only in the effusion samples. In malignant mesothelioma, LOXL4 and its splice variants were expressed at all sites. Breast carcinoma effusions showed significantly higher LOXL2 (p = 0.003) and lower LOXL3 (p < 0.001) expression compared to primary carcinomas. Our data show differences in LOXL messenger RNA expression as a function of anatomic site and tumor type in cancers affecting the serosal cavities.