Hypermethylation of multiple genes in pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Takashi Ueki, Minoru Toyota, Taylor Sohn, Charles J. Yeo, Jean Pierre J. Issa, Ralph H. Hruban, Michael Goggins

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

384 Scopus citations

Abstract

Hypermethylation of CpG islands is a common mechanism by which tumor suppressor genes are inactivated. We studied 45 pancreatic carcinomas and 14 normal pancreata for aberrant DNA methylation of CpG islands of multiple genes and clones using methylation-specific PCR (MSP) and bisulfite-modified sequencing. Using MSP, we detected aberrant methylation of at least one locus in 60% of carcinomas. The genes analyzed included RARβ (methylated in 20%), p16 (18%), CACNA1G (16%), TIMP-3 (11%), E-cad (7%), THBS1 (7%), hMLH1 (4%), DAP kinase (2%), and MGMT (0%). In addition, aberrant methylation was found in three CpG islands (MINT31, -1, and -2) in 38, 38, and 14% of carcinomas, respectively. Hypermethylation was largely confined to the carcinomas with only three loci (E-cad, DAP kinase, and MINT2) harboring methylation in some normal pancreata (36, 21, and 14%, respectively). Simultaneous methylation of at least four loci was observed in 5 of 36 (14%) pancreatic adenocarcinomas. We defined this subgroup of pancreatic adenocarcinomas as 'CpG island- methylator-phenotype positive (CIMP+).' Two of four carcinomas with microsatellite instability harbored promoter hypermethylation of hMLH1, and both cases were CIMP+. Thus, we conclude that many pancreatic carcinomas hypermethylate a small percentage of genes, whereas a subset displays a CIMP+ phenotype.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1835-1839
Number of pages5
JournalCancer Research
Volume60
Issue number7
StatePublished - Apr 1 2000
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Research

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