Clinical outcomes of downregulation of E-cadherin gene expression in non-small cell lung cancer.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the promoter methylation status of the E-cadherin gene in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and its association with clinical pathological parameters, and to explore the relationship between downregulation of E-cadherin gene expression and the methylation status of its promoter region.


METHODS
Nested methylation-specific PCR was performed to examine CpG methylation within the 5' CpG island of the E-cadherin gene in lung cancer and para-cancerous tissue from 37 patients with primary non-small cell lung cancer. Quantitative real-time PCR was performed to measure the level of E-cadherin mRNA.


RESULTS
Of thirty-seven cases, 12 (32.4%) samples showed aberrant CpG methylation in tumor tissues compared with the corresponding normal tissues. In addition, a reduction in E-cadherin mRNA levels was observed in 11 of the 12 (91.7%) tumor tissues carrying a methylated E-cadherin gene. However, only 10 (43.5%) cases displayed reduced mRNA levels in tumor tissues from the remaining 23 cases (excluding 2 samples from which mRNA was unavailable) without methylation events. Downregulation of E-cadherin gene expression significantly correlated with the promoter methylation status of this gene.


CONCLUSIONS
These results provide strong evidence that the methylation status of E-cadherin gene contributes to a reduction in the expression of E-cadherin mRNA, and may play a role in the development and progression of NSCLC.
Department of Cardio-thoracic Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
Shi-Ying
SY
Zheng
Jing-Yu
JY
Hou
Jun
J
Zhao
Dong
D
Jiang
Jin-Feng
JF
Ge
Sheng
S
Chen
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015820:Cadherins / Q000235:genetics*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018899:CpG Islands; D015536:Down-Regulation; D005091:Exons; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000378:metabolism; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008745:Methylation; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
D015820:Cadherins; D012333:RNA, Messenger