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Gene expression profiles in human gastric cancer: expression of maspin correlates with lymph node metastasis.

To seek for a candidate gene that would regulate tumour progression and metastasis in gastric cancer, we investigated gene expression profiles by using DNA microarray. Tumour tissue and adjacent normal tissue were obtained from 21 patients with gastric cancer and then examined for their gene expression profiles by the Gene Chip Human U95Av2 array, which includes 12 000 human genes and EST sequences. A total of 25 genes were upregulated and two genes were downregulated by at least four-fold in the tumour tissue. In a further analysis according to lymph node metastasis, the expressed levels of maspin, as well as carcinoembryonic antigen and nonspecific crossreacting antigen were significantly higher in tumours with lymph node metastasis than in those without it. Maspin expression in 85 gastric cancer patients was further investigated by using immunohistochemistry. Maspin expression was not observed in normal gastric epithelia without intestinal metaplasia. In contrast, maspin was expressed in 74 of 85 tumour tissues. There was a significant correlation between the incidence of maspin-positive tumour staining and lymph node metastasis. These results suggest that maspin has a potential role for tumour metastasis in gastric cancer.

Adult↗

Methylation microarray analysis of late-stage ovarian carcinomas distinguishes progression-free survival in patients and identifies candidate epigenetic markers.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to profile methylation alterations of CpG islands in ovarian tumors and to identify candidate markers for diagnosis and prognosis of the disease. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: A global analysis of DNA methylation using a novel microarray approach called differential methylation hybridization was performed on 19 patients with stage III and IV ovarian carcinomas. RESULTS: Hierarchical clustering identified two groups of patients with distinct methylation profiles. Tumors from group 1 contained high levels of concurrent methylation, whereas group 2 tumors had lower tumor methylation levels. The duration of progression-free survival after chemotherapy was significantly shorter for patients in group 1 compared with group 2 (P < 0.001). Differential methylation in tumors was independently confirmed by methylation-specific PCR. CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest that a higher degree of CpG island methylation is associated with early disease recurrence after chemotherapy. The differential methylation hybridization assay also identified a select group of CpG island loci that are potentially useful as epigenetic markers for predicting treatment outcome in ovarian cancer patients.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗

Integrating advanced analytical methods to assess epigenetic marks affecting response to hypomethylating agents in higher risk myelodysplastic syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Patients with higher-risk (HR) myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), ineligible for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT), require prompt therapeutic interventions, such as treatment with hypomethylating agents (HMAs) to restore normal DNA methylation patterns, mainly of oncosuppressor genes, and consequently to delay disease progression and increase overall survival (OS). However, response assessment to HMA treatment relies on conventional methods with limited capacity to uncover a wide spectrum of underlying molecular events. METHODS: We implemented liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to assess 5' methyl-2' deoxycytidine (5mdC), 5' hydroxy-methyl-2'-deoxycytidine (5hmdC) levels and global adenosine/thymidine ([dA]/[T]) ratio in bone marrow aspirates from twenty-one HR MDS patients, pre- and post-HMA treatment. Additionally, targeted methylation analysis was performed by interpretation of NGS-methylation (MeD-seq) data obtained from the same patient cohort. RESULTS: LC/MS-MS analysis revealed a significant hypomethylation status in responders (Rs), already established at baseline and a trend for further DNA methylation reduction post-HMA treatment. Non-responders (NRs) reached statistical significance for DNA hypomethylation only post-HMA treatment. The 5hmdC epigenetic mark was approximately detected at 37.5-40% among NRs and Rs, implying the impairment of the natural active demethylation pathway, mediated by the ten-eleven (TET) 5mdC dioxygenases. R and NR subgroups displayed a [dA]/[T] ratio&#x2009;<&#x2009;1 (0.727&#x2009;-&#x2009;0.633), supporting high frequences of 5mdC transition to thymidine. Response to treatment, according to whole genome MeD-seq data analysis, was associated with specific, scattered hypomethylated DMRs, rather than presenting a global effect across genome. MeD-seq analysis identified divergent epigenetic effects along chromosomes 7, 9, 12, 16, 18, 21, 22, X and Y. Within statistically significant selected chromosomal bins, genes encoding for proteins and non-coding RNAs with reversed methylation profiles between Rs and NRs, were highlighted. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of powerful analytical tools to identify the dynamic DNA methylation changes in HR MDS patients undergoing HMA therapy demonstrated that LC-MS/MS exerts high efficiency as a broad-based but rapid and cost-effective methodology (compared to MeD-seq) to decode different perspectives of the epigenetic background of HR MDS patients and possess discriminative efficacy of the response phenotype to HMA treatment.

Humans↗

Predominant maternal expression of the mouse Atp10c in hippocampus and olfactory bulb.

The human chromosome 15q11-q13 region is one of the most intriguing imprinted domains, and the abnormalities inherited are associated with neurological disorders including Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), Angelman syndrome (AS) and autism. Recently we have identified a novel maternally expressed gene, ATP10C, that encodes a putative aminophospholipid translocase within this critical region, 200 kb distal to UBE3A in an imprinted domain on human chromosome 15. ATP10C, with UBE3A, displayed tissue-specific imprinting with predominant expression of the maternal allele in the brain. In this study, we demonstrated that the mouse homologue, Atp10c/pfatp, showed tissue-specific maternal expression in the hippocampus and olfactory bulb, which overlapped the region of imprinted Ube3a expression. These data suggest that the imprinted transcript of Atp10c in the specific region of CNS may be associated with neurological disorders including AS and autism.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

Overexpression of caveolin-1 and -2 in cell lines and in human samples of inflammatory breast cancer.

PURPOSE: Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is the most aggressive form of locally advanced breast cancer (LABC). The IBC phenotype is characterized by an infiltrative growth pattern, increased (lymph)angiogenesis and the propensity to invade dermal lymphatics. In pancreatic cancer, interactions between caveolin-1 and RhoC GTPase, a key molecule in causing the IBC phenotype, regulate tumour cell motility and invasion. In this study we sought to investigate the role of caveolin-1 and -2 in IBC cell lines and in human IBC samples. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Differential methylation techniques identified the methylation status of the caveolin-1 and -2 promoters in human mammary epithelial cells (HMECs) and the SUM149 cell line. In cell line experiments, caveolin-1 and -2 mRNA and protein expression were compared in HMECs, MCF10A, the SUM102 non-IBC cell lines and 2 IBC cell lines (SUM149 and SUM190). Furthermore, caveolin-1 and -2 mRNA and protein expression were compared in human IBC and non-IBC samples using cDNA microarray, real-time qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Results were correlated with RhoC protein expression data. RESULTS: In the SUM149 cell line, the caveolin-1 and -2 promoter sites were hypomethylated. A significantly increased expression of caveolin-1 and -2, both at the mRNA and protein level was found in IBC cell lines and in human samples of IBC: caveolin-1 and -2 mRNA were respectively 1.7 (p = 0.02) and 2.2 (p = 0.03) fold more expressed in IBC compared to non IBC and at the protein level, 41.4% of IBC specimens expressed either caveolin-1 or -2, compared to 15.6% of non-IBC specimens (p = 0.03). Furthermore a correlation was found between RhoC protein expression and caveolin-1 (p = 0.1) or caveolin-2 (p = 0.09) or either caveolin-1 or -2 protein expression (p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Although considered a tumour suppressor in breast cancer, we demonstrated overexpression of caveolin-1 and -2 in IBC cell lines and in human samples of IBC, most likely due to hypomethylation of their respective promoters. These results confirm the distinct molecular signature of IBC. Our data further suggest interaction between RhoC GTPase and the caveolins in IBC.

Adult↗

High-throughput assay of DNA methylation based on methylation-specific primer and SAGE.

Mapping of genomic DNA methylation is a dispensable part of functional genome. We have developed a novel method based on methylation-specific primer and serial analysis of gene expression, called MSP-SAGE, with potential of high-throughput quantification of genomic DNA methylation. We used a 6-mer methylation-specific primer to extend the methylated CpG sequences other than non-methylated CpG sequences. The 17 bp tags contained methylated CpG sequence, which were obtained from extended methylation sequence by digestion of restriction endonuclease, and then the tags were concatenated and cloned for sequencing. We can identify the locations of methylation according to the sequences of tags and quantify the methylation status from the frequency of the tags. MSP-SAGE has a good linearity in a broad methylation range from 5% to 100% with good accuracy and high precision. The proof-of-principle study shows that MSP-SAGE is a reliable high-throughput assay for quantification of DNA methylation.

Alleles↗

Expression of the p16(INK4a) gene product, methylation of the p16(INK4a) promoter region and expression of the polycomb-group gene BMI-1 in squamous cell lung carcinoma and premalignant endobronchial lesions.

It is generally assumed that squamous cell carcinoma develops in a stepwise manner from normal bronchial epithelium towards cancer by the accumulation of (epi)genetic alterations. Several mechanisms including mutations and homozygous deletions or hypermethylation of the p16(INK4a) promoter region can cause loss of p16 expression. Recent studies suggest overexpression of the polycomb-group gene BMI-1 might also down-regulate p16 expression. In this study, we analyzed the p16 expression in relation to the methylation status of the p16 promoter region of the p16(INK4a) gene and the expression of BMI-1 in bronchial squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) and its premalignant lesions. Nine (69%) SCC showed loss of p16 expression and 10 (77%) showed expression of BMI-1. Of four p16 positive samples two (50%) were BMI-1 positive, whereas among nine p16 negative samples, eight (89%) revealed BMI-1 staining. Four (44%) p16 negative samples were hypermethylated at the p16(INK4a) promoter region; the other p16 negative tumors that showed no hypermethylation revealed BMI-1 staining. Only two premalignant lesions showed absence of p16 expression, of which one (carcinoma in situ) was hypermethylated at the p16(INK4a) promoter region and the other (severe dysplasia) showed BMI-1 expression. In total, 11 precursor lesions (48%) revealed BMI-1 expression. In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that loss of p16 expression by promoter hypermethylation is inconsistently and occurs late in the carcinogenic process at the level of severe dysplasia. To what extent overexpression of the polycomb-group protein BMI-1 attributes to down regulating of p16 expression remains unclear.

Aged↗

Methylation target array for rapid analysis of CpG island hypermethylation in multiple tissue genomes.

Hypermethylation of multiple CpG islands is a common event in cancer. To assess the prognostic values of this epigenetic alteration, we developed Methylation Target Array (MTA), derived from the concept of tissue microarray, for simultaneous analysis of DNA hypermethylation in hundreds of tissue genomes. In MTA, linker-ligated CpG island fragments were digested with methylation-sensitive endonucleases and amplified with flanking primers. A panel of 468 MTA amplicons, which represented the whole repertoire of methylated CpG islands in 93 breast tumors, 20 normal breast tissues, and 4 breast cancer cell lines, were arrayed on nylon membrane for probe hybridization. Positive hybridization signals detected in tumor amplicons, but not in normal amplicons, were indicative of aberrant hypermethylation in tumor samples. This is attributed to aberrant sites that were protected from methylation-sensitive restriction and were amplified by PCR in tumor samples, while the same sites were restricted and could not be amplified in normal samples. Hypermethylation frequencies of the 10 genes tested in breast tumors and cancer cell lines were 60% for GPC3, 58% for RASSF1A, 32% for 3OST3B, 30% for HOXA5, 28% for uPA, 25% for WT1, 23% for BRCA1, 9% for DAPK1, and 0% for KL. Furthermore, hypermethylation of 5 to 7 loci of these genes was significantly correlated with hormone receptor status, clinical stages, and ages at diagnosis of the patients analyzed. This novel approach thus provides an additional avenue for assessing clinicopathological consequences of DNA hypermethylation in breast cancer.

Breast Neoplasms↗

Whorl-specific expression of the SUPERMAN gene of Arabidopsis is mediated by cis elements in the transcribed region.

The SUPERMAN (SUP) gene of Arabidopsis is involved in controlling cell proliferation in stamen and carpel primordia and in ovules during flower development. The SUP gene encodes a transcription factor with a C2H2-type zinc finger motif, a serine/proline-rich domain, a basic domain, and a leucine-zipper-like domain and is expressed in a very limited region in stamen primordia and in the developing ovary during flower development. The SUP gene is susceptible to methylation, resulting in epigenetic gene silencing. To understand how the SUP gene is expressed spatially and temporally in its restricted domain, and why methylation of the transcribed region affects early-stage SUP expression, we have identified the SUP cis regulatory elements by characterizing SUP gene fusions. These studies show that the SUP gene has discrete upstream promoter elements required for expression in stamen primordia in early stages and in the ovary in later stages. The promoter activity for stamen primordia is modulated by several positive and negative elements located in the transcribed and translated regions. Several regulatory elements in the transcribed region correlate with the areas of the gene that are heavily methylated in epigenetic alleles; these data provide a possible explanation of how methylation of the transcribed region represses transcription.

Arabidopsis↗

Galectin genes: regulation of expression.

In this review we have summarized the more recent studies on the expression of mammalian galectins. One interesting observation that can be made is that in most of microarrays and/or differential display analysis performed in recent years one or more galectins have been picked up. From a critical evaluation of the pertinent studies the main conclusion that can be drawn is that, although it is not yet clear whether the 14 galectins identified so far have functions in common, a striking common feature of all galectins is the strong modulation of their expression during development, differentiation stages and under different physiological or pathological conditions. This suggests that the expression of different galectins is finely tuned and possibly coordinated. In spite of these observations it is rather unexpected that very few studies have been performed on the molecular mechanisms governing the activity of galectin genes.

Animals↗

Methylation analysis of the glypican 3 gene in embryonal tumours.

We have previously shown that the glypican 3 (GPC3) gene was expressed in neuroblastoma (NB) and Wilms' tumour (WT), two embryonal tumours. GPC3 is an X-linked gene that has its peak expression during development and that is downregulated in all investigated tissues after birth. GPC3 expression could be involved in the aetiology of embryonal tumours such as NB and WT. Methylation is known to play a role in gene silencing, notably in chromosome X inactivation. Southern blot- and PCR-based methylation assays were used to assess the methylation status of the GPC3 promoter on genomic DNA from both normal and embryonal tumour cells. In normal cells, the promoter was not methylated in males and partially methylated in females. Our results suggest that DNA methylation of the promoter region is not essential for the transcriptional repression of the GPC3 gene and that the methylation observed in females is probably linked to the inactive X chromosome. In tumour samples, methylation abnormalities have been found exclusively in female NB samples (loss of methylation) and mainly in male WT samples (gain of methylation). Overall, methylation did not significantly correlate with the expression status of GPC3. Although promoter methylation is likely to affect the expression status of the gene, our results suggest that the deregulation of GPC3 transcriptional expression seen in NB and WT involves other regulatory levels.

Blotting, Southern↗

RASSF2, a potential tumour suppressor, is silenced by CpG island hypermethylation in gastric cancer.

RASSF2, a member of the RASSF1 family, has recently been identified as a potential tumour suppressor. We examined methylation status in multiple regions which included the CpG island and spanned the transcription start site of RASSF2 in 10 gastric cancer cell lines, as well as 78 primary gastric cancers and corresponding non-neoplastic gastric epithelia. Hypermethylation of RASSF2 in at least one of the regions examined was detected in seven (70%) of the 10 cell lines; two (20%) exhibited hypermethylation in all the regions examined including the transcription start site and lost expression of RASSF2 mRNA, which could, however, be restored by 5-aza-2' deoxycytidine treatment, while the other five (50%) cell lines exhibited hypermethylation at the 5'- and/or 3'- edge, with four of them expressing RASSF2 mRNA. In primary gastric cancers and corresponding non-neoplastic gastric epithelia, frequencies of RASSF2 methylation ranged from 29% (23 out of 78) to 79% (62 out of 78) and 3% (two out of 78) to 60% (47 out of 78), respectively, at different CpG sites examined. Methylation was frequently observed at the 5'- and 3'- edges, and became less frequent near the transcription start site in both the primary gastric cancers and corresponding non-neoplastic gastric epithelia. Hypermethylation near the transcription start site was mostly cancer-specific. We thus showed that RASSF2 is silenced by hypermethylation near the transcription start site in gastric cancer. Hypermethylation was found initially to occur at the 5'- and 3'- furthest regions of the CpG island in non-neoplastic gastric epithelia, to gradually spreads near the transcription start site to shut down RASSF2 expression, and ultimately to constitute a field-defect placing tissue increased risk for development of gastric cancer.

Adult↗

Aberrant promoter methylation and silencing of the RASSF1A gene in pediatric tumors and cell lines.

Aberrant promoter methylation of tumor suppressor genes has not been fully investigated in pediatric tumors. Therefore, we examined the methylation status of nine genes (p16(INK4A), MGMT, GSTP1, RASSF1A, APC, DAPK, RARbeta, CDH1 and CDH13) in 175 primary pediatric tumors and 23 tumor cell lines using methylation-specific PCR. We studied the major forms of pediatric tumors--Wilms' tumor, neuroblastoma, hepatoblastoma, medulloblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, osteosarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, retinoblastoma and acute leukemia. The most frequently methylated gene in both primary tumors and cell lines was RASSF1A (40, 86%, respectively). However, the rates of RASSF1A methylation in individual tumor types varied from 0 to 88%. RASSF1A methylation was tumor specific and was absent in adjacent non-malignant tissues. Methylation of the other genes was relatively rare in tumors and non-malignant tissues (less than 5%). Neuroblastoma patients with methylation of RASSF1A were significantly older than patients without methylation (P=0.008). There was no relationship between methylation status and other clinico-pathologic parameters. We treated six cell lines lacking RASSF1A mRNA with 5-aza-2'deoxycytidine to examine the relationship between methylation and transcriptional silencing. In five of six cell lines, restoration of RASSF1A mRNA was confirmed by RT-PCR. Our findings indicate that aberrant promoter methylation of RASSF1A may contribute to the pathogenesis of many different forms of pediatric tumors.

Alleles↗

ASPP1, a common activator of TP53, is inactivated by aberrant methylation of its promoter in acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

We have analyzed the regulation and expression of ASPP members, genes implicated in the regulation of the apoptotic function of the TP53 tumor-suppressor gene, in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Expression of ASPP1 was significantly reduced in ALL and was dependent on hypermethylation of the ASPP1 gene promoter. Abnormal ASPP1 expression was associated with normal function of the tumor-suppressor gene TP53 in ALL. The analyses of 180 patients with ALL at diagnosis showed that the ASPP1 promoter was hypermethylated in 25% of cases with decreased mRNA expression. Methylation was significantly higher in adult ALL vs childhood ALL (32 vs 17%, P = 0.03) and T-ALL vs B-ALL (50 vs 9%, P = 0.001). Relapse rate (62 vs 44%, P = 0.05) and mortality (59 vs 43%, P = 0.05) were significantly higher in patients with methylated ASPP1. DFS and OS were 32.8 and 33.7% for patients with unmethylated ASPP1 and 6.1 and 9.9% for methylated patients (P < 0.001 y P < 0.02, respectively). On the multivariate analysis, methylation of the ASPP1 gene promoter was an independent poor prognosis factor in ALL patients. Our results demonstrate that decreased expression of ASPP1 in patients with ALL is due to an abnormal methylation of its promoter and is associated with a poor prognosis.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

Identification and characterisation of imprinted genes in the mouse.

Imprinted genes are expressed specifically from one or other parental allele. Over 70 are now known, and about one-half of these are expressed from the paternal allele and one-half from the maternal allele. Most imprinted genes are clustered within imprinting regions of the mouse genome, regions which are associated with abnormal phenotypes when inherited uniparentally. Imprinted genes have been identified from surveys based on differential expression or differential methylation according to parental origin, as well as analyses of candidate genes, mutants and imprinted gene clusters. Many imprinted genes affect growth and development, and more than 25 per cent determine non-coding RNAs that may have a function in controlling imprinted gene expression.

Alleles↗

Deregulated expression of the PER1, PER2 and PER3 genes in breast cancers.

Disruption of circadian rhythm may be a risk factor in the development of breast cancer, but molecular changes in circadian rhythm controlled genes in breast cancer cells are still unexplored. We used immunohistochemical staining, methylation specific PCR and direct sequencing methods to analyze molecular changes in three most important genes, namely PER1, PER2 and PER3, in circadian rhythm in 55 cases of breast cancer of Taiwanese women. Our results reveal disturbances in the expression of the three period (PER) genes in most (>95%) of the breast cancerous cells in comparison with the nearby non-cancerous cells. The PER gene deregulation is not caused by genetic mutations but most probably by methylation of the PER1 or PER2 promoter. Methylation of the PER gene promoters has a strong correlation with c-erbB2 expression (P = 0.017). Since the circadian clock controls expression of cell-cycle related genes, we suggest that disturbances in PER gene expression may result in disruption of the control of the normal circadian clock, thus benefiting the survival of cancer cells and promoting carcinogenesis. Differential expression of circadian genes in non-cancerous and cancerous cells may provide a molecular basis for chronotherapy of breast cancer.

Adult↗

5-Methylcytosine DNA glycosylase participates in the genome-wide loss of DNA methylation occurring during mouse myoblast differentiation.

Changes in gene expression during mouse myoblast differentiation were monitored by DNA microarray hybridisation. Four days after the onset of differentiation 2.37% of the genes increased in activity from a value of zero, whereas during the same time 1.68% of total genes had decreased expression. During the first 24 h of differentiation an average of 700 000 CpG sites per haploid genome were demethylated. Maximal loss of DNA methylation is attained after 2 days of differentiation, followed by a gradual remethylation. The highest demethylation is observed in highly repeated DNA sequences, followed by single copy sequences. When DNA replication is inhibited by aphidicolin or L-mimosine this genome-wide demethylation is still observed. During the first 3 h of differentiation there is an increase in the number of hemimethylated CpG sites, which disappear rapidly during the course of genome-wide hypomethylation. Transfection of cells with an antisense morpholino oligonucleotide to 5-methylcytosine DNA glycosylase (G/T mismatch DNA glycosylase) decreases both the activity of the enzyme and genome-wide demethylation. It is concluded that the genome-wide loss of DNA methylation in differentiating mouse myoblasts occurs in part by formation of hemimethylated CpG sites, which can serve as the substrate for 5-methylcytosine-DNA glycosylase.

Animals↗