title: FAT4 hypermethylation and grade dependent downregulation in gastric adenocarcinoma.
abstract: Gastric cancer is one of the major causes of death due to cancer in the world. It is a multi-factorial disease with epigenetic factors being also involved in its development. FAT4 is a tumor suppressor gene exerting an important role in cell adhesion. This study aimed at analyzing FAT4 expression and promoter methylation in gastric cancer. FAT4 expression was studied in 30 tumoral tissues and their non-tumoral counterparts using Taqman real time PCR method. Promoter methylation was assessed using bisulfite conversion method followed by sequencing. Tumor tissues showed reduced FAT4 expression (P = 0.04). FAT4 downregulation was associated with tumor grade, with higher repression at advanced grades. Significant increase of promoter methylation was observed in tumoral tissues. Reduced expression of FAT4 and increased methylation of its promoter may be one of the effective processes in turning a healthy stomach tissue into a tumor tissue.
authors.affiliation: Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.|Department of Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pilehchian Langroudi
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Rouhani hospital, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Novin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nikbakhsh
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali Akbar
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Samadani
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Sadegh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fattahi
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Rouhani hospital, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Taheri
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Rouhani hospital, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Shahryar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shafaei
authors.affiliation: North Research Center of Pasteur Institute, Amol, Iran.
authors.forename: Galia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Amirbozorgi
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaerobic Vaccine Research and Production, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pilehchian Langroudi
authors.affiliation: Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran. halehakhavan@yahoo.com.|Department of Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran. halehakhavan@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Haleh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Akhavan-Niaki
keywords: FAT4; Gastric cancer; Gene expression; Promoter methylation