title: Inactivation of the p16 gene by hypermethylation and loss of heterozygosity in adenocarcinoma of the lung.
abstract: We investigated the aberrant promoter hypermethylation of p16, p15 and p14 genes and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at 9p21-22 in 48 cases of adenocarcinoma of the lung. The frequencies of hypermethylation of genes were as follows: p16, 25.0%; p15, 22.9%; and p14, 18.8%. The frequency of LOH at chromosome 9p21-22 was 60.9%. The frequency of two-hit inactivation of the p16 gene by hypermethylation and LOH was 21.7%. Two-hit inactivation of the p16 gene showed loss of protein expression and was significantly correlated with tumor size, tumor grade and the Ki-67 labeling index. Hypermethylation of the p16 gene was not significantly correlated with hypermethylation of the p15 and p14 genes, both of which are close to the p16 gene locus, suggesting that hypermethylation of these genes occurs selectivity. In conclusion, biallelic inactivation of the p16 gene by hypermethylation and LOH might cause loss of p16 expression and play an important role in the development of adenocarcinoma of the lung. Therefore, controlling and monitoring for hypermethylation of the p16 gene may be partially useful for treatment and early diagnosis of adenocarcinoma of the lung.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Hirokazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Awaya
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takeshima
authors.forename: Vishwa Jeet
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Amatya
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Furonaka
authors.forename: Kohei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tagawa
authors.forename: Nobuoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kohno
authors.forename: Kouki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Inai
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D019175:DNA Methylation; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis; D020868:Gene Silencing; D019942:Genes, p16; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D019656:Loss of Heterozygosity; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm