Epigenetic silencing of human T (brachyury homologue) gene in non-small-cell lung cancer.

Abstract

Early detection of lung cancer is challenging due to a lack of adequate biomarkers. To discover novel tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) silenced by aberrant promoter methylation, we analyzed the gene expression profiles of two lung adenocarcinoma cell lines using pharmacologic-unmasking and subsequent microarray-analysis. Among 617 genes upregulated, we selected 30 genes and investigated the methylation status of their promoters by bisulfite sequencing analysis. Aberrant methylation was detected in four genes (CRABP2, NOEY2, T, MAP2K3) in at least one lung adenocarcinoma cell lines. Furthermore, the T promoter was methylated in 60% of primary lung adenocarcinomas versus 13% of non-malignant lung tissues. Conversely, RT-PCR analysis revealed T expression was low in lung tumors, while high in normal tissues. In addition, no non-synonymous mutations related to gene silencing were found. While further analysis is warranted, our results suggest that T has the potential to be a novel candidate TSG in lung cancer.

EDRN PI Authors
Medline Author List
  • Chae YK
  • Hoque MO
  • Kim MS
  • Lee J
  • Moon C
  • Ostrow K
  • Park JC
  • Sidransky D
  • Son CH
PubMed ID
Appears In
Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 2008 Jan, volume 365 (issue 2)