title: Aberrant promoter methylation and reduced expression of p16 gene in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma from Kashmir valley: a high-risk area.
abstract: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most prevalent cancer in Jammu and Kashmir region of India and has multi-factorial etiology involving dietary habits, genetic factors, and gene environmental interactions. Inactivation of the p16 gene expression by aberrant promoter methylation plays an important role in the progression of esophageal carcinoma. In the present investigation, we have studied the role of p16 promoter methylation in 69 histopathologically confirmed ESCC tissues and compared it with corresponding normal adjacent tissues for DNA methylation in the CpG island in the p16 promoter region by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP) and p16 protein expression by immunoblotting. The results showed loss of p16 expression in 67% (46/69) of tumor tissues compared to only 3% in control tissues (2/69). Promoter methylation was observed in 52% (36/69) of tumor tissues and it gradually increased with the increasing severity of histological grades of the cancer (P = 0.0001). Loss of p16 expression with promoter methylation was observed in 26 of 36 cases (72%). Analysis of patients dietary habits revealed a strong association between promoter methylation and high consumption of hot salted tea (P < 0.05) which is a most favourite drink commonly consumed by Kashmiri people.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Sher-I-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
authors.forename: Irfana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Salam
authors.forename: Showket
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hussain
authors.forename: Mohammad Muzaffar
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Mir
authors.forename: Nazir Ahmad
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Dar
authors.forename: Safiya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abdullah
authors.forename: Mushtaq Ahmad
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Siddiqi
authors.forename: Riyaz Ahmad
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Lone
authors.forename: Showkat Ahmad
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Zargar
authors.forename: Shashi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Suresh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hedau
authors.forename: Seemi Farhat
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Basir
authors.forename: Alok Chandra
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Bharti
authors.forename: Bhudev C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Das
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16 / Q000235:genetics*; D019175:DNA Methylation; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D020868:Gene Silencing; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16