Promoter methylation (PM) of RING-finger protein (RNF) 180 affects gastric cancer (GC) prognosis, but its association with risk of GC or atrophic gastritis (AG) is unclear. We investigated relationships between RNF180 PM and GC or AG, and the effects of Helicobactor pylori (H.pylori) infection on RNF180 PM. This study included 513 subjects (159 with GC, 186 with AG, and 168 healthy controls [CO...

dinucleotides are the rarest dinucleotides in genomes, Ficz says that 75–85% of these dinucleotides are methylated in mammals (p. 14). However, when they group together to form CpG islands at promoter regions, they are generally unmethylated. Adding that this so-called ‘hypermethylation’ effectively shuts down genes, Ficz says that promoter hypermethylation is rare during development, yet incre...

We have developed a transcriptome-wide approach to identify genes affected by promoter CpG island DNA hypermethylation and transcriptional silencing in colorectal cancer. By screening cell lines and validating tumorspecific hypermethylation in a panel of primary human colorectal cancer samples, we estimate that nearly 5% or more of all known genes may be promoter methylated in an individual tum...

BACKGROUND Gene silencing through CpG island hypermethylation is a major mechanism in cancer development. In the present study, we aimed to identify and validate novel target genes inactivated through promoter hypermethylation in colorectal tumor development. METHODS With the use of microarrays, the gene expression profiles of colon cancer cell lines before and after treatment with the demeth...

BACKGROUND Claudins are membrane proteins that play critical roles in tight junction (TJ) formation and function. Members of the claudin gene family have been demonstrated to be aberrantly regulated, and to participate in the pathogenesis of various human cancers. In the present study, we report that claudin-11 (CLDN11) is silenced in gastric cancer via hypermethylation of its promoter region. ...

BACKGROUND Inactivation of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene results in accumulation and translocation of beta-Catenin, which are important for malignant development. The aim of the present study is to investigate the possible role of APC/beta-Catenin pathway in oral squamous cell carcinomas. METHODS The DNA from 34 patients was examined for loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at two markers...

Reactivation of tumour suppressor genes that have been silenced by promoter methylation is a very attractive molecular target for cancer therapy. The treatment of a squamous cervical cancer cell line, SiHa, with 20 μM curcumin and genistein resulted in demethylation of promoter of the RARβ2 gene and led to the reactivation of the gene. The degree of methylation as observed by MSP decreased as t...

BACKGROUND Atypical adenomatous hyperplasia (AAH) is now recognized as a precursor lesion from which lung adenocarcinomas arise and thus represents an ideal target for studying the early genetic and epigenetic alterations associated with lung tumorigenesis such as alterations of the Wnt pathway. METHODS We assessed the level of Wnt signaling activity in lung cancer cell lines by determining t...