Abstract
Purpose
Aberrant methylation of the promoter region is associated with silencing of many genes in neoplasia. CpG island methylation is an epigenetic mechanism for transcriptional silencing that occurs at various stages of colon tumorigenesis. In this study, we tested the promoter methylation and expression of seven genes from various pathways of DNA repair, apoptosis and inflammation, i.e., sFRP1, MLH1, RASSF1A, CDA, v-fgr, LYN-B, and TNFR10d.
Method
The genes were analyzed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction for the level of gene expression. The promoter methylation status of the genes was studied by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction.
Result
The correlation of promoter methylation status with suppressed gene expression patterns suggested a potential role for the silencing these genes in colon cancer progression.
Conclusion
Promoter methylations of the studied genes could be explored as promising biomarkers for new diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic targets of colorectal cancer.