title: Epigenetic inactivation of the extracellular matrix metallopeptidase ADAMTS19 gene and the metastatic spread in colorectal cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  ADAMTS19 encodes a member of the ADAMTS (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain with thrombospondin motifs) protein family with emerging roles in carcinogenesis and metastasis. ADAMTS shares several distinct protein modules including a propeptide region, a metalloproteinase domain, a disintegrin-like domain, and a thrombospondin type 1 (TS) motif. In a previous work, we found ADAMTS19 frequently hypermethylated in colorectal cancer (CRC). We explored the association of methylation with tumor genotype and phenotype.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The methylation status of the CpG island in the promoter of ADAMTS19 was determined in 252 colorectal, 65 pancreatic, 33 breast and 169 ovarian primary tumors, 70 CRC metastases, and 10 CRC cell lines. Tumor-specific methylation of ADAMTS19 was significantly more frequent in gastrointestinal than in gynecological cancers (odds ratio (OR) = 2.9, confidence interval (CI) = (1.9-4.7), p = 5.2 × 10(-7)) and was independent of the methylation of adjacent loci in CRC. Hypermethylation associated with CRC with mutated BRAF oncogene (OR = 10.1, CI = (3.1-42.9), p = 6.3 × 10(-6)) and with the mucinous phenotype in CRC (OR = 2.1, CI = (1.1-4.1), p = 0.023) and ovarian cancer (OR = 60, CI = (16-346), p = 4 × 10(-16)). Methylation was significantly more frequent in CRC metastases homing to the ovary and omentum than in those homing to the liver and lung (OR = 6.1, CI = (1.8-22.2), p = 0.001). Differentiating local from distant metastatic spread, methylation negatively associated with tumor progression (p = 0.031) but positively with depth of invasion (p = 0.030). Hypermethylation associated with transcriptional repression in CRC cell lines, and treatment with 5'-AZA-2'-deoxycytidine led to reactivation of mRNA expression. shRNA-mediated silencing of ADAMTS19 had no effect on the in vitro proliferation rate of CRC cells but significantly diminished their collective migration speed (56 %, p = 3.3 × 10(-4)) and potential to migrate in collagen I (64 %, p = 4.3 × 10(-10)).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results highlight the frequent involvement of ADAMTS19 epigenetic silencing in CRC and mucinous ovarian cancer. The mechanistic preferences for the target organ of metastatic spread may lead to the development of diagnostic CRC biomarkers. The association with the mucinous phenotype also may have diagnostic applications for ovarian cancer.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Predictive and Personalized Medicine of Cancer (IMPPC), Institut d'investigació en ciéncies de la salut Germans Trias I Pujol, (IGTP), Campus Can Ruti, 08916 Badalona, Barcelona Spain.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alonso
authors.affiliation: Institute of Predictive and Personalized Medicine of Cancer (IMPPC), Institut d'investigació en ciéncies de la salut Germans Trias I Pujol, (IGTP), Campus Can Ruti, 08916 Badalona, Barcelona Spain.
authors.forename: Beatriz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: González
authors.affiliation: Institute of Predictive and Personalized Medicine of Cancer (IMPPC), Institut d'investigació en ciéncies de la salut Germans Trias I Pujol, (IGTP), Campus Can Ruti, 08916 Badalona, Barcelona Spain ; Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Dicovery Institute, 10901 N. Torrey Pines Rd. La Jolla, San Diego, CA 92037 USA.
authors.forename: Tatiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Larroya
authors.affiliation: Cancer Genetics Laboratory, IBGM-CSIC, University of Valladolid, Valladolid, 47005 Spain.
authors.forename: Mercedes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Durán Domínguez
authors.affiliation: Institute of Predictive and Personalized Medicine of Cancer (IMPPC), Institut d'investigació en ciéncies de la salut Germans Trias I Pujol, (IGTP), Campus Can Ruti, 08916 Badalona, Barcelona Spain ; Department of Surgery, Saitama Medical Center, Jichi Medical University, 1-847, Amanuma-cho, Omiya-ku, Saitama, 330-8503 Japan.
authors.forename: Takaharu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.affiliation: Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Dicovery Institute, 10901 N. Torrey Pines Rd. La Jolla, San Diego, CA 92037 USA.
authors.forename: Akihiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Matsunaga
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Saitama Medical Center, Jichi Medical University, 1-847, Amanuma-cho, Omiya-ku, Saitama, 330-8503 Japan.
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Dicovery Institute, 10901 N. Torrey Pines Rd. La Jolla, San Diego, CA 92037 USA.
authors.forename: Alex Y
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Strongin
authors.affiliation: Institute of Predictive and Personalized Medicine of Cancer (IMPPC), Institut d'investigació en ciéncies de la salut Germans Trias I Pujol, (IGTP), Campus Can Ruti, 08916 Badalona, Barcelona Spain ; Departament de Ciències Fisiològiques II, Campus Ciènces de Salut de Bellvitge, IDIBELL, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, 08907 Spain.
authors.forename: Pepita
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gimènez-Bonafé
authors.affiliation: Institute of Predictive and Personalized Medicine of Cancer (IMPPC), Institut d'investigació en ciéncies de la salut Germans Trias I Pujol, (IGTP), Campus Can Ruti, 08916 Badalona, Barcelona Spain ; Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Dicovery Institute, 10901 N. Torrey Pines Rd. La Jolla, San Diego, CA 92037 USA ; Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies. Pg. Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Perucho
keywords: ADAMTS; Gastrointestinal cancer; MS-AFLP; Matrix metallopeptidases; Methylation; Ovarian cancer