title: A promoter methylation pattern in the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor 2B gene predicts poor prognosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether the promoter methylation pattern in N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor 2B (NMDAR2B) is correlated with clinical features of human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), the methylation status of the gene was examined at three different sites (P1, P2, and P3) where two CpG islands reside within 1 kb upstream of the transcription start site.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three independent modalities for methylation analysis (bisulfite sequencing, combined bisulfite restriction analysis, and TaqMan methylation-specific PCR) were done to analyze total 67 ESCC tissues that included 43 primary tumors with well-characterized clinicopathologic variables including patient outcome.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using an optimized cutoff value based on quantitative methylation-specific PCR, we found that patients with higher NMDAR2B methylation ratio in the proximal region (P1) showed a worse 5-year disease-specific survival rate than those without NMDAR2B methylation (P < 0.006). A significant correlation was also seen between NMDAR2B promoter methylation and the presence of vascular permeation (P = 0.03).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  NMDAR2B promoter methylation could be a clinically applicable marker in ESCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Cancer Research Division, Johns Hopkins University, 1550 Orleans Street, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA.
authors.forename: Myoung Sook
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Keishi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: Young Kwang
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Chae
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tokumaru
authors.forename: Xiaofei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Marianna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zahurak
authors.forename: Motonobu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Osada
authors.forename: Hannah Lui
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chuang
authors.forename: Joseph A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Califano
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sidransky
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality; D019175:DNA Methylation; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C121001:NR2B NMDA receptor; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate