1 5357 121 REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES INDUCE EPIGENETIC INSTABILITY THROUGH THE FORMATION OF 8-HYDROXYDEOXYGUANOSINE IN HUMAN HEPATOCARCINOGENESIS. CHRONIC HEPATITIS C (CHC) TRIGGERS OXIDATIVE STRESS AND CONTRIBUTES TO THE EMERGENCE OF HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA (HCC). WE PREVIOUSLY REPORTED THAT TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENE (TSG) METHYLATION IS A CRITICAL FACTOR DURING THE EARLY STAGES OF HEPATOCARCINOGENESIS. IN THIS STUDY, WE CLARIFY THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN OXIDATIVE STRESS AND EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS DURING HEPATOCARCINOGENESIS. WE EXAMINED DNA OXIDATION AND METHYLATION PROFILES IN 128 LIVER BIOPSY SAMPLES FROM CHC PATIENTS. THE DNA OXIDATION AND METHYLATED TSG NUMBERS WERE QUANTIFIED USING IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF 8-HYDROXYDEOXYGUANOSINE (8-OHDG) AND QUANTITATIVE PCR FOR 11 TSGS, RESPECTIVELY. THE QUANTITATIVE CHROMATIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION-PCR (CHIP-QPCR) ASSAY IN HEPG2 AND FETAL LIVER HC CELLS TREATED WITH H2O2 WAS USED TO QUANTIFY TRIMETHYL-H3K4, ACETYLATED-H4K16 (AN ACTIVE CHROMATIN MARKER), TRIMETHYL-H3K27 (A REPRESSIVE CHROMATIN MARKER) AND 8-OHDG. WE ANALYZED 30 PROMOTERS OF 25 DIFFERENT TSGS BY QPCR. THE HIGH LEVELS OF 8-OHDG WAS THE ONLY VARIABLE THAT WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE INCREASED NUMBER OF METHYLATED TSGS IN CHC (P < 0.0001). THE CHIP-QPCR REVEALED THAT AFTER H2O2 TREATMENT OF THE CELL LINES, THE 8-OHDG-BOUND PROMOTERS SHOWED A MODIFICATION FROM AN ACTIVE CHROMATIN (TRIMETHYL-H3K4 AND ACETYLATED-H4K16 DOMINANT) TO A REPRESSIVE CHROMATIN (TRIMETHYL-H3K27 DOMINANT) STATUS. WE CONCLUDE THAT OXIDATIVE STRESS ALTERS THE CHROMATIN STATUS, WHICH LEADS TO ABNORMAL METHYLATION OF TSGS, AND CONTRIBUTES TO HEPATOCARCINOGENESIS IN CHC PATIENTS. 2013 2 4899 35 OXIDATIVE STRESS MEDIATES THE APOPTOSIS AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF THE BCL-2 PROMOTER VIA DNMT1 IN A CIGARETTE SMOKE-INDUCED EMPHYSEMA MODEL. BACKGROUND: EMPHYSEMA IS A CRUCIAL PATHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTIC OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD). OXIDATIVE STRESS, APOPTOSIS AND EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS CONTRIBUTE TO THE PATHOGENESIS OF EMPHYSEMA. HOWEVER, AN ATTEMPT TO ACCURATELY IDENTIFY WHETHER THESE MECHANISMS INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER AND HOW THEY ARE TRIGGERED HAS NEVER BEEN CONDUCTED. METHOD: THE TOTAL REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS) LEVEL, PULMONARY APOPTOSIS AND B-CELL LYMPHOMA/LEUKEMIA-2 (BCL-2) EXPRESSION, AN APOPTOSIS REGULATOR, WERE DETECTED IN SAMPLES FROM COPD PATIENTS. BISULFITE SEQUENCING PCR (BSP) WAS CONDUCTED TO OBSERVE THE ALTERATIONS IN THE METHYLATION OF THE BCL-2 PROMOTER IN SPECIMENS. THE DYSREGULATION OF DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE ENZYME 1 (DNMT1), A VITAL DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE ENZYME, IN THE LUNGS OF PATIENTS WAS CONFIRMED THROUGH WESTERN BLOTTING. TO FIND OUT INTERACTIONS BETWEEN OXIDATIVE STRESS AND DNA METHYLATION IN EMPHYSEMA, MOUSE MODELS WERE BUILT WITH ANTIOXIDANT TREATMENT AND DNMT1 SILENCING, AND WERE EXAMINED WITH THE PULMONARY APOPTOSIS, BCL-2 AND DNMT1 LEVELS, AND EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS OF BCL-2. RESULTS: HIGHER ROS LEVELS AND PULMONARY APOPTOSIS WERE OBSERVED IN COPD PATIENTS THAN IN HEALTHY CONTROLS. DOWNREGULATED BCL-2 EXPRESSION WITH INCREASED PROMOTER METHYLATION AND DNMT1 PROTEIN EXPRESSION WAS FOUND IN COPD PATIENTS. ANTIOXIDANT TREATMENT REDUCED THE LEVEL OF ROS, DNMT1 PROTEIN AND EMPHYSEMATOUS PROGRESSION IN THE SMOKING MODELS. FOLLOWING DNMT1 BLOCKADE, SMOKING MODELS SHOWED IMPROVED LUNG FUNCTION, PULMONARY APOPTOSIS, EMPHYSEMATOUS PROGRESSION, AND INCREASED BCL-2 PROTEIN LEVEL WITH LESS PROMOTER METHYLATION THAN EMPHYSEMA MICE. CONCLUSION: CIGARETTE-INDUCED OXIDATIVE STRESS MEDIATES PULMONARY APOPTOSIS AND HYPERMETHYLATION OF THE BCL-2 PROMOTER IN EMPHYSEMA MODELS THROUGH DNMT1. 2020 3 2326 35 EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF HOTAIR IN ADVANCED CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA. PURPOSE: CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA (CML) ACCOUNTS FOR ~10% OF LEUKEMIA CASES, AND ITS PROGRESSION INVOLVES EPIGENETIC GENE REGULATION. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF HOTAIR AND ITS TARGET MICRORNA, MIR-143, IN ADVANCED CML. PATIENTS AND METHODS: WE FIRST ISOLATED BONE MARROW MONONUCLEAR CELLS FROM 70 PATIENTS WITH DIFFERENT PHASES OF CML AND FROM HEALTHY DONORS AS NORMAL CONTROL; WE ALSO CULTURED K562 AND KCL22 CELLS, TREATED WITH DEMETHYLATION DRUG; MTT ASSAY, FLOW CYTOMETRY, QUANTITATIVE REAL-TIME POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (QPCR), METHYLATION-SPECIFIC POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (MSP), WESTERN BLOT, LUCIFERASE ASSAY, RNA PULL-DOWN ASSAY AND RNA-BINDING PROTEIN IMMUNOPRECIPITATION (RIP) ASSAY WERE PERFORMED. RESULT: AS MEASURED BY QPCR, HOTAIR EXPRESSION IN K562 CELLS, KCL22 CELLS, AND SAMPLES FROM CASES OF ADVANCED-STAGE CML INCREASED WITH LEVELS OF SEVERAL DNA METHYLTRANSFERASES AND HISTONE DEACETYLATES, INCLUDING DNMT1, DNMT3A, HDAC1, EZH2, AND LSD1, AND MIR-143 LEVELS WERE DECREASED AND HOTAIR LEVELS WERE INCREASED. TREATMENT WITH 5-AZACYTIDINE, A DNA METHYLATION INHIBITOR, DECREASED DNMT1, DNMT3A, HDAC1, EZH2, LSD1 MRNA, PROTEIN LEVELS, AND HOTAIR MRNA LEVELS BUT INCREASED MIR-143 LEVELS. HOTAIR KNOCKDOWN AND MIR-143 OVEREXPRESSION BOTH INHIBITED PROLIFERATION AND PROMOTED APOPTOSIS IN KCL22 AND K562 CELLS THROUGH THE PI3K/AKT PATHWAY. RNA PULL-DOWN, MASS SPECTROMETRY, AND RIP ASSAYS SHOWED THAT HOTAIR INTERACTED WITH EZH2 AND LSD1. A DUAL-LUCIFERASE ASSAY DEMONSTRATED THAT HOTAIR INTERACTED WITH MIR-143. CONCLUSION: OUR FINDINGS DEMONSTRATE THE KEY EPIGENETIC INTERACTIONS OF HOTAIR RELATED TO CML PROGRESSION AND SUGGEST HOTAIR AS A POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC TARGET FOR ADVANCED CML. FURTHERMORE, OUR RESULTS SUPPORT THE USE OF DEMETHYLATION DRUGS AS A CML TREATMENT STRATEGY. 2018 4 2766 37 EXPRESSION, POLYMORPHISM AND METHYLATION PATTERN OF INTERLEUKIN-6 IN PERIODONTAL TISSUES. PERIODONTITIS IS CONSIDERED AN INFLAMMATORY DISORDER OF BACTERIAL ETIOLOGY THAT RESULTS IN PERIODONTAL TISSUE DESTRUCTION, AS A RESULT OF COMPLEX INTERACTIONS BETWEEN PERIODONTAL PATHOGENS, HOST AND IMMUNE RESPONSE. GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS MAY MODULATE THE INDIVIDUAL RESPONSE SINCE IT IS ABLE TO INFLUENCE THE GENE EXPRESSION. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF -174 G/C POLYMORPHISM AND THE METHYLATION STATUS OF THE PROMOTER REGION OF IL-6 GENE ON THE EXPRESSION OF IL-6 IN GINGIVAL SAMPLES FROM INDIVIDUALS WITH CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS. GINGIVAL BIOPSIES WERE COLLECTED FROM 21 PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS AND 21 CONTROLS. HISTOLOGIC SECTIONS STAINED BY HEMATOXYLIN-EOSIN WERE USED FOR HISTOPATHOLOGICAL EVALUATION. THE IL-6 GENE EXPRESSION WAS ASSESSED BY QUANTITATIVE REAL-TIME PCR. THE POLYMORPHISM IL-6 -174 C/G WAS STUDIED BY POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (PCR) AMPLIFICATION AND RESTRICTION ENDONUCLEASE DIGESTION (HSPII). METHYLATION-SPECIFIC POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION WAS USED TO VERIFY THE DNA METHYLATION PATTERN. THE NUMBER OF INFLAMMATORY CELLS IN TISSUE FRAGMENTS FROM INDIVIDUALS WITH CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS WAS HIGHER THAN IN THE CONTROL GROUP AND THE INFLAMMATORY INFILTRATE WAS PREDOMINANTLY MONONUCLEAR. THE EXPRESSION OF IL-6 WAS HIGHER IN THE GROUP WITH PERIODONTITIS. IN POLYMORPHISM ASSAY, NO STATISTICAL DIFFERENCE IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF GENOTYPES AND ALLELES IN BOTH GROUPS WERE OBSERVED. THE MOST OF SAMPLES WERE PARTIALLY METHYLATED. NO DIFFERENCE WAS OBSERVED IN METHYLATION PATTERN FROM TWO DIFFERENT REGIONS OF THE IL-6 GENE AMONG GROUPS. THE HIGH EXPRESSION OF IL-6 IS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR RELATED TO CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS, BUT WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH METHYLATION STATUS OR THE -174 (G/C) GENETIC POLYMORPHISM, SUGGESTING THAT OTHER MECHANISMS ARE INVOLVED IN THIS GENE TRANSCRIPTION REGULATION. 2013 5 5479 35 RESVERATROL ATTENUATES CIGARETTE SMOKE EXTRACT INDUCED CELLULAR SENESCENCE IN HUMAN AIRWAY EPITHELIAL CELLS BY REGULATING THE MIR-34A/SIRT1/NF-KAPPAB PATHWAY. CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD) IS CHARACTERIZED BY ACCELERATED LUNG AGING. SMOKING IS THE CRITICAL RISK FACTOR FOR COPD. CELLULAR SENESCENCE OF AIRWAY EPITHELIAL CELLS IS THE CYTOLOGICAL BASIS OF ACCELERATED LUNG AGING IN COPD, AND THE REGULATION OF MICRORNAS (MIRNAS) IS THE CENTRAL EPIGENETIC MECHANISM OF CELLULAR SENESCENCE. RESVERATROL (RES) IS A POLYPHENOL WITH ANTI-AGING PROPERTIES. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED WHETHER RES ATTENUATES CIGARETTE SMOKE EXTRACT (CSE)-INDUCED CELLULAR SENESCENCE IN HUMAN AIRWAY EPITHELIAL CELLS (BEAS-2B) THROUGH THE MIR-34A/SIRT1/NUCLEAR FACTOR-KAPPAB (NF-KAPPAB) PATHWAY. BEAS-2B CELLS WERE TREATED WITH RES, CSE AND TRANSFECTED WITH MIR-34A-5P MIMICS. CELLULAR SENESCENCE WAS EVALUATED BY SENESCENCE -RELATED BETA-GALACTOSIDASE (SA-BETA-GAL) STAINING AND EXPRESSION OF SENESCENCE-RELATED GENES (P16, P21, AND P53). THE EXPRESSIONS OF MIR-34A-5P, SIRT1, AND NF-KAPPAB P65 WERE EXAMINED USING QUANTITATIVE REAL TIME POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION AND WESTERN BLOTTING. THE SENESCENCE-ASSOCIATED SECRETORY PHENOTYPE (SASP) CYTOKINES (IL-1BETA, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-ALPHA) WERE ASSESSED BY ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY. THE BINDING BETWEEN MIR-34A-5P AND SIRT1 WAS CONFIRMED BY DUAL-LUCIFERASE REPORTER ASSAY. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT CSE DOSE-DEPENDENTLY DECREASED CELL VIABILITY AND ELEVATED CELLULAR SENESCENCE, CHARACTERIZED BY INCREASED SA-BETA-GAL STAINING AND SENESCENCE-RELATED GENE EXPRESSIONS (P16, P21, AND P53). FURTHER, CSE DOSE-DEPENDENTLY INCREASED THE EXPRESSION OF MIR-34A-5P AND SASP CYTOKINES (IL-1BETA, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-ALPHA) IN BEAS-2B CELLS. PRETREATMENT WITH RES INHIBITED CSE-INDUCED CELLULAR SENESCENCE AND SECRETION OF SASP CYTOKINES (IL-1BETA, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-ALPHA) IN A DOSE-DEPENDENT MANNER. MOREOVER, RES REVERSED THE CSE-INDUCED DOWN-REGULATION OF SIRT1 AND UP-REGULATION OF MIR-34A-5P AND NF-KAPPAB P65. SIRT1 IS A TARGET OF MIR-34A-5P. OVEREXPRESSION OF MIR-34A-5P VIA TRANSFECTION WITH MIR-34A-5P MIMIC IN BEAS-2B CELLS ATTENUATED THE INHIBITORY EFFECT OF RES ON CELLULAR SENESCENCE, ACCOMPANIED BY REVERSING THE EXPRESSION OF SIRT1 AND NF-KAPPAB P65. IN CONCLUSION, RES ATTENUATED CSE-INDUCED CELLULAR SENESCENCE IN BEAS-2B CELLS BY REGULATING THE MIR-34A/SIRT1/NF-KAPPAB PATHWAY, WHICH MAY PROVIDE A NEW APPROACH FOR COPD TREATMENT. 2022 6 5116 25 POSITIVE REGULATION OF HUMAN TELOMERASE REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE GENE EXPRESSION AND TELOMERASE ACTIVITY BY DNA METHYLATION IN PANCREATIC CANCER. AIM: WE SOUGHT TO DETERMINE THE ROLE OF TELOMERASE AND ITS CATALYTIC SUBUNIT HTERT IN PANCREATIC CANCER AND EVALUATE THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF HTERT BY PROMOTER METHYLATION. METHODS: THIRTY PAIRED SAMPLES OF PANCREATIC DUCTAL ADENOCARCINOMAS AND ADJACENT NORMAL TISSUE AND 12 CHRONIC PANCREATITIS SAMPLES WERE STUDIED. REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION, TELOMERIC REPEAT AMPLIFICATION PROTOCOL ASSAY, AND METHYLATION-SPECIFIC POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION WERE PERFORMED TO ANALYZE HTERT EXPRESSION, TELOMERASE ACTIVITY, AND METHYLATION STATUS OF GENE PROMOTERS, RESPECTIVELY. RESULT: HTERT AND TELOMERASE ACTIVITY WERE UPREGULATED IN PANCREATIC CANCER COMPARED WITH PAIRED NORMAL TISSUES AND SAMPLES OF PANCREATITIS. HTERT EXPRESSION CORRELATED WITH TELOMERASE ACTIVITY (P \ .05) AND IN TURN CORRELATED POSITIVELY WITH HTERT PROMOTER METHYLATION (P \ .001) AND P16 PROMOTER METHYLATION. HTERT TRANSCRIPT EXPRESSION AND TELOMERASE ACTIVITY BOTH CONFERRED A WORSE OUTCOME BY UNIVARIATE AND MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS (P \ .05). CONCLUSION: HTERT EXPRESSION AND TELOMERASE ACTIVITY ARE PREDICTORS OF POOR OUTCOME IN PANCREATIC CANCER. HTERT GENE EXPRESSION IS POSITIVELY REGULATED BY PROMOTER METHYLATION. 2009 7 3646 37 INCREASED PROTEIN EXPRESSION OF DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE (DNMT) 1 IS SIGNIFICANTLY CORRELATED WITH THE MALIGNANT POTENTIAL AND POOR PROGNOSIS OF HUMAN HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMAS. ALTERATION OF DNA METHYLATION IS ONE OF THE MOST CONSISTENT EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN HUMAN CANCERS. DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE (DNMT) 1 IS A MAJOR ENZYME INVOLVED IN ESTABLISHING GENOMIC METHYLATION PATTERNS. MOST OF THE STUDIES CONCERNING DNMT1 EXPRESSION IN HUMAN CANCERS HAVE BEEN PERFORMED ONLY AT THE MRNA LEVEL. TO DIRECTLY EXAMINE DNMT1 PROTEIN EXPRESSION LEVELS DURING HUMAN HEPATOCARCINOGENESIS, 16 HISTOLOGICALLY NORMAL LIVER TISSUES, 51 NONCANCEROUS LIVER TISSUES EXHIBITING CHRONIC HEPATITIS OR CIRRHOSIS, WHICH ARE CONSIDERED TO BE PRECANCEROUS CONDITIONS, AND 53 HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMAS (HCCS) WERE SUBJECTED TO IMMUNOHISTOCHEMIC EXAMINATION. IF MORE THAN 20% OF THE CELLS EXHIBITED NUCLEAR DNMT1 STAINING, THE TISSUE SAMPLE WAS CONSIDERED TO BE DNMT1-POSITIVE. DNMT1 IMMUNOREACTIVITY WAS OBSERVED IN 23 (43%) OF THE HCCS, BUT IN NONE (0%) OF THE HISTOLOGICALLY NORMAL LIVER OR NONCANCEROUS LIVER TISSUES EXHIBITING CHRONIC HEPATITIS OR CIRRHOSIS. THE INCIDENCE OF INCREASED DNMT1 PROTEIN EXPRESSION IN HCCS CORRELATED SIGNIFICANTLY WITH POOR TUMOR DIFFERENTIATION (P = 0.0006) AND PORTAL VEIN INVOLVEMENT (P = 0.0002). MOREOVER, THE RECURRENCE-FREE (P = 0.0001) AND OVERALL (P < 0.0001) SURVIVAL RATES OF PATIENTS WITH HCCS EXHIBITING INCREASED DNMT1 PROTEIN EXPRESSION WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN THOSE OF PATIENTS WITH HCCS THAT DID NOT EXHIBIT INCREASED EXPRESSION. INCREASED DNMT1 PROTEIN EXPRESSION MAY PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN THE MALIGNANT PROGRESSION OF HCCS AND BE A BIOLOGIC PREDICTOR OF BOTH HCC RECURRENCE AND A POOR PROGNOSIS IN HCC PATIENTS. 2003 8 1826 39 EFFECTS OF HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR ON EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX PRODUCTION IN HUMAN NASAL POLYP ORGAN CULTURES. BACKGROUND: NASAL POLYPOSIS IS ASSOCIATED WITH A CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY CONDITION OF THE SINONASAL MUCOSA AND INVOLVES MYOFIBROBLAST DIFFERENTIATION AND EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX (ECM) ACCUMULATION. EPIGENETIC MODULATION BY HISTONE DEACETYLASE (HDAC) INHIBITORS INCLUDING TRICHOSTATIN A (TSA) HAS BEEN REPORTED TO HAVE INHIBITORY EFFECTS ON MYOFIBROBLAST DIFFERENTIATION IN LUNG AND RENAL FIBROBLASTS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE INHIBITORY EFFECT OF TSA ON MYOFIBROBLAST DIFFERENTIATION AND ECM PRODUCTION IN NASAL POLYP ORGAN CULTURES. METHODS: NASAL POLYP TISSUES FROM 18 PATIENTS WERE ACQUIRED DURING ENDOSCOPIC SINUS SURGERY. AFTER ORGAN CULTURE, NASAL POLYPS WERE STIMULATED WITH TGF-BETA1 AND THEN TREATED WITH TSA. ALPHA-SMOOTH MUSCLE ACTIN (ALPHA-SMA), FIBRONECTIN, AND COLLAGEN TYPE I EXPRESSION LEVELS WERE EXAMINED BY REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION-POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (PCR), REAL-TIME PCR, WESTERN BLOT, AND IMMUNOFLUORESCENT STAINING. HDAC2, HDAC4, AND ACETYLATED H4 EXPRESSION LEVELS WERE ASSAYED BY WESTERN BLOT. CYTOTOXICITY WAS ANALYZED BY THE TERMINAL DEOXYNUCLEOTIDYL TRANSFERASE BIOTIN-DUTP NICK END LABELING ASSAY. RESULTS: THE EXPRESSION LEVELS OF ALPHA-SMA, FIBRONECTIN, AND COLLAGEN TYPE 1 WERE INCREASED IN NASAL POLYP AFTER TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR (TGF) BETA1 TREATMENT. TSA-INHIBITED TGF-BETA1 INDUCED THESE GENE AND PROTEIN EXPRESSION LEVELS. FURTHERMORE, TSA SUPPRESSED PROTEIN EXPRESSION LEVELS OF HDAC2 AND HDAC4. HOWEVER, TSA INDUCED HYPERACETYLATION OF HISTONES H4. TREATMENT WITH TGF-BETA1 WITH OR WITHOUT TSA DID NOT HAVE CYTOTOXIC EFFECT. CONCLUSION: THESE FINDINGS PROVIDE NOVEL INSIGHTS INTO THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION IN MYOFIBROBLAST DIFFERENTIATION AND ECM PRODUCTION OF NASAL POLYP. TSA COULD BE A CANDIDATE OF A THERAPEUTIC AGENT FOR REVERSING THE TGF-BETA1-INDUCED ECM SYNTHESIS THAT LEADS TO NASAL POLYP DEVELOPMENT. 2013 9 4303 32 MICRORNA-223 INHIBITS TISSUE FACTOR EXPRESSION IN VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL CELLS. OBJECTIVE: ATHEROSCLEROSIS IS A CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY PROCESS, IN WHICH VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL CELLS (ECS) BECOME DYSFUNCTIONAL OWING TO THE EFFECTS OF CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES, SUCH AS INFLAMMATORY FACTOR AND GROWTH FACTORS. TISSUE FACTOR (TF) EXPRESSION IS INDUCED BY THE ABOVE CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES IN ACTIVATED ECS. TF INITIATES THROMBOSIS ON DISRUPTED ATHEROSCLEROTIC PLAQUES WHICH PLAYS AN ESSENTIAL ROLE DURING THE ONSET OF ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROMES (ACS). INCREASING EVIDENCES SUGGEST THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF MICRORNAS AS EPIGENETIC REGULATORS OF ATHEROSCLEROTIC DISEASE. THE AIM OF OUR STUDY IS TO IDENTIFY IF MICRORNA-223 (MIR-223) TARGETS TF IN ECS. METHODS AND RESULTS: BIOINFORMATIC ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT TF IS A TARGET CANDIDATE OF MIR-223. WESTERN BLOTTING ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR ALPHA (TNF-ALPHA) INCREASED TF EXPRESSION IN AORTA OF C57BL/6J MICE AND CULTURED ECS (EA.HY926 CELLS AND HUVEC) AFTER 4 H TREATMENT. IN TNF-ALPHA TREATED ECS, TF MRNA WAS ALSO INCREASED MEASURED BY REAL-TIME PCR. REAL-TIME PCR RESULTS SHOWED THAT MIR-223 LEVELS WERE DOWNREGULATED IN TNF-ALPHA-TREATED AORTA OF C57BL/6J MICE AND CULTURED ECS. TRANSFECTION OF ECS WITH MIR-223 MIMIC OR MIR-223 INHIBITOR MODIFIED TF EXPRESSION BOTH IN MRNA AND PROTEIN LEVELS. LUCIFERASE ASSAYS CONFIRMED THAT MIR-223 SUPPRESSED TF EXPRESSION BY BINDING TO THE SEQUENCE OF TF 3'-UNTRANSLATED REGIONS (3'UTR). TF PROCOAGULANT ACTIVITY WAS INHIBITED BY OVEREXPRESSING MIR-223 WITH OR WITHOUT TNF-ALPHA STIMULATION. CONCLUSIONS: MIR-223-MEDIATED SUPPRESSION OF TF EXPRESSION PROVIDES A NOVEL MOLECULAR MECHANISM FOR THE REGULATION OF COAGULATION CASCADE, AND SUGGESTS A CLUE AGAINST THROMBOGENESIS DURING THE PROCESS OF ATHEROSCLEROTIC PLAQUE RUPTURE. 2014 10 1968 34 EPIGENETIC ALTERATION OF THE SOCS1 GENE IN CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKAEMIA. THE EXPRESSION OF THE SUPPRESSOR OF CYTOKINE SIGNALLING-1 (SOCS1) PROTEIN IS INDUCED IN RESPONSE TO STIMULATION BY SEVERAL CYTOKINES. THE INDUCED SOCS1 INHIBITS THE SIGNALLING PATHWAY THROUGH THE ASSOCIATION WITH A VARIETY OF TYROSINE KINASE PROTEINS. IN THIS STUDY, THE MUTATION ANALYSES, CPG ISLAND METHYLATION STATUS, AND THE EXPRESSION OF THE SOCS1 GENE IN 112 CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKAEMIA (CML) SAMPLES, FIVE LEUKAEMIA CELL LINES, AND 30 NORMAL CONTROLS WERE ANALYSED. NO GENETIC MUTATIONS OF SOCS1 GENE WERE NOTED IN THE CML SAMPLES. THE SOCS1 GENE WAS HYPERMETHYLATED IN 67% AND 46% OF THE BLASTIC AND CHRONIC PHASE CML SAMPLES RESPECTIVELY (P < 0.0001). HOWEVER, THERE WAS NO METHYLATION OF THE SOCS1 GENE IN NORMAL CONTROLS OR CML IN MOLECULAR REMISSION. THE METHYLATION STATUS OF THE SOCS1 GENE IS CONSISTENT WITH THE RESULTS OF THE REAL-TIME QUANTITATIVE REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION AND IMMUNOCYTOCHEMISTRY STAINING. OUR RESULTS DEMONSTRATE THAT THE SOCS1 GENE SILENCING IS CAUSED BY THE METHYLATION OF CPG ISLANDS IN CML AND IS REVERSED TO AN UNMETHYLATED STATUS IN MOLECULAR REMISSION. AS SOCS1 HAS UNIVERSAL ACTIVITY TO NEGATIVELY REGULATE SEVERAL CYTOKINE SIGNALLING PATHWAYS, THE LOSS OF THE NEGATIVE REGULATION OF CYTOKINE SIGNALLING BY THE SOCS1 MAY PLAY A ROLE IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF CML PROGRESSION. 2003 11 3440 33 HYPERMETHYLATION AND LOW TRANSCRIPTION OF TLR2 GENE IN CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS. PERIODONTITIS IS AN INFLAMMATORY DISORDER CHARACTERIZED BY INTERACTIONS BETWEEN PERIODONTAL PATHOGENS AND HOST'S IMMUNE RESPONSE. EPIGENETIC MAY CONTRIBUTE TO DISEASE DEVELOPMENT AND OUTCOME BY INFLUENCING THE EXPRESSION OF GENES INVOLVED IN THE IMMUNE RESPONSE. IT HAS BEEN SHOWN THAT TOLL-LIKE RECEPTORS (TLR) PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE RESPONSE TO PERIODONTOPATHIC BACTERIA. THE AIM OF STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE METHYLATION STATUS AND THE EXPRESSION OF TLR2 GENE IN GINGIVAL SAMPLES FROM INDIVIDUALS WITH AND WITHOUT PERIODONTITIS. DNA WAS ANALYZED USING THE METHYL PROFILER DNA METHYLATION QPCR ASSAY. DNA METHYLATION AND TRANSCRIPT LEVELS WERE EVALUATED BY REAL-TIME POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION. THE PERIODONTITIS GROUP SHOWED A HYPERMETHYLATED PROFILE AND A LOW EXPRESSION OF GENE. POSITIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE TLR2 METHYLATION FREQUENCY AND PROBING DEPTH WAS OBSERVED. THIS STUDY GIVES THE FIRST EVIDENCE OF METHYLATION FREQUENCY IN INFLAMED PERIODONTAL TISSUES AND OF THE POSSIBLE PARTICIPATION OF METHYLATION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PERIODONTITIS. 2013 12 3796 37 INTERLEUKIN-6 PROMOTES TUMORIGENESIS BY ALTERING DNA METHYLATION IN ORAL CANCER CELLS. WORLDWIDE ORAL SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA (OSCC) ACCOUNTS FOR MORE THAN 100,000 DEATHS EACH YEAR. CHRONIC INFLAMMATION CONSTITUTES ONE OF THE KEY RISK FACTORS FOR OSCC. ACCUMULATING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT ABERRANT DNA METHYLATION MAY CONTRIBUTE TO OSCC TUMORIGENESIS. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED WHETHER CHRONIC INFLAMMATION ALTERS DNA METHYLATION AND EXPRESSION OF CANCER-ASSOCIATED GENES IN OSCC. WE ESTABLISHED AN IN VITRO MODEL OF INTERLEUKIN (IL)-6 MEDIATING CHRONIC INFLAMMATION IN OSCC CELL LINES. THEREAFTER, WE MEASURED THE ABILITY OF IL-6 TO INDUCE GLOBAL HYPOMETHYLATION OF LONG INTERSPERSED NUCLEAR ELEMENT-1 (LINE-1) SEQUENCES, AS WELL AS CPG METHYLATION CHANGES USING MULTIPLE METHODOLOGIES INCLUDING QUANTITATIVE PYROSEQUENCING, METHYLATION-SPECIFIC MULTIPLEX LIGATION-DEPENDENT PROBE AMPLIFICATION AND SENSITIVE MELTING ANALYSIS AFTER REAL-TIME-METHYLATION-SPECIFIC POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (PCR). GENE EXPRESSION WAS INVESTIGATED BY QUANTITATIVE REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE-PCR. IL-6 INDUCED SIGNIFICANT GLOBAL LINE-1 HYPOMETHYLATION (P=0.016) IN OUR IN VITRO MODEL OF INFLAMMATORY STRESS IN OSCC CELL LINES. SIMULTANEOUSLY, IL-6 INDUCED CPG PROMOTER METHYLATION CHANGES IN SEVERAL IMPORTANT PUTATIVE TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENES INCLUDING CHFR, GATA5 AND PAX6. METHYLATION CHANGES CORRELATED INVERSELY WITH THE CHANGES IN THE EXPRESSION OF CORRESPONDING GENES. OUR RESULTS INDICATE THAT IL-6-INDUCED INFLAMMATION PROMOTES TUMORIGENESIS IN THE ORAL CAVITY BY ALTERING GLOBAL LINE-1 HYPOMETHYLATION. IN ADDITION, CONCURRENT HYPERMETHYLATION OF MULTIPLE TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENES BY IL-6 SUGGESTS THAT EPIGENETIC GENE SILENCING MAY BE AN IMPORTANT CONSEQUENCE OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION IN THE ORAL CAVITY. THESE FINDINGS HAVE CLINICAL RELEVANCE, AS BOTH METHYLATION AND INFLAMMATION ARE SUITABLE TARGETS FOR DEVELOPING NOVEL PREVENTIVE AND THERAPEUTIC MEASURES. 2011 13 902 32 CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO ARSENIC, ESTROGEN, AND THEIR COMBINATION CAUSES INCREASED GROWTH AND TRANSFORMATION IN HUMAN PROSTATE EPITHELIAL CELLS POTENTIALLY BY HYPERMETHYLATION-MEDIATED SILENCING OF MLH1. BACKGROUND: CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO ARSENIC AND ESTROGEN IS ASSOCIATED WITH RISK OF PROSTATE CANCER, BUT THEIR MECHANISM IS NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD. ADDITIONALLY, THE CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS OF THEIR CO-EXPOSURE ARE NOT KNOWN. THEREFORE, THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO ARSENIC, ESTROGEN, AND THEIR COMBINATION, ON CELL GROWTH AND TRANSFORMATION, AND IDENTIFY THE MECHANISM BEHIND THESE EFFECTS. METHODS: RWPE-1 HUMAN PROSTATE EPITHELIAL CELLS WERE CHRONICALLY EXPOSED TO ARSENIC AND ESTROGEN ALONE AND IN COMBINATION. CELL GROWTH WAS MEASURED BY CELL COUNT AND CELL CYCLE, WHEREAS CELL TRANSFORMATION WAS EVALUATED BY COLONY FORMATION ASSAY. GENE EXPRESSION WAS MEASURED BY QUANTITATIVE REAL-TIME PCR AND CONFIRMED AT PROTEIN LEVEL BY WESTERN BLOT ANALYSIS. MLH1 PROMOTER METHYLATION WAS DETERMINED BY PYROSEQUENCING METHOD. RESULTS: EXPOSURE TO ARSENIC, ESTROGEN, AND THEIR COMBINATIONS INCREASES CELL GROWTH AND TRANSFORMATION IN RWPE-1 CELLS. INCREASED EXPRESSION OF CYCLIN D1 AND BCL2, WHEREAS DECREASED EXPRESSION OF MISMATCH REPAIR GENES MSH4, MSH6, AND MLH1 WAS ALSO OBSERVED. HYPERMETHYLATION OF MLH1 PROMOTER FURTHER SUGGESTED THE EPIGENETIC INACTIVATION OF MLH1 EXPRESSION IN ARSENIC AND ESTROGEN TREATED CELLS. ARSENIC AND ESTROGEN COMBINATION CAUSED GREATER CHANGES THAN THEIR INDIVIDUAL TREATMENTS. CONCLUSIONS: FINDINGS OF THIS STUDY FOR THE FIRST TIME SUGGEST THAT ARSENIC AND ESTROGEN EXPOSURES CAUSE INCREASED CELL GROWTH AND SURVIVAL POTENTIALLY THROUGH EPIGENETIC INACTIVATION OF MLH1 RESULTING IN DECREASED MLH1-MEDIATED APOPTOTIC RESPONSE, AND CONSEQUENTLY INCREASED CELLULAR TRANSFORMATION. 2013 14 6382 37 THE ROLE OF PARTICULATE MATTERS ON METHYLATION OF IFN-GAMMA AND IL-4 PROMOTER GENES IN PEDIATRIC ALLERGIC RHINITIS. ALLERGIC RHINITIS (AR) IS A CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISORDER DRIVEN BY T CELL ACTIVATION. HOW PARTICULATE MATTER CONTRIBUTES TO EPIGENETIC CHANGES THAT IN TURN INFLUENCE CYTOKINE GENE EXPRESSION IN CD4(+)T CELLS REMAINS UNCLEAR. IN THIS STUDY, 105 CHILDREN DIAGNOSED WITH AR AND 90 HEALTHY CONTROLS WERE RECRUITED TO EXPLORE THE POSSIBLE MECHANISM OF PARTICULATE MATTER (PM) ON THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF CD4(+)T IFN-GAMMA AND IL-4 PROMOTER GENES. DAILY AVERAGE PM(10) AND PM(2.5) WERE OBTAINED FROM FIVE STATE-CONTROLLED MONITORING STATIONS, AND ACTIVITY-BASED DYNAMIC EXPOSURE AND PERSONAL EXPOSURE DATA WERE COLLECTED. DNA METHYLATION PATTERNS OF IFN-GAMMA AND IL-4 PROMOTER REGIONS WERE ANALYZED USING BISULFITE SEQUENCING. MRNA LEVELS WERE DETECTED BY REAL-TIME QUANTITATIVE REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION. WE FOUND THAT THE METHYLATION RATE IN IFN-GAMMA WAS HIGHER IN AR CD4(+)T CELLS THAN IN THE CONTROLS. IFN-GAMMA MRNA EXPRESSION WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED IN CD4(+)T CELLS, AND NEGATIVELY CORRELATED WITH THE MEAN METHYLATION LEVEL OF IFN-GAMMA. HOWEVER, NO CORRELATION BETWEEN IL-4 METHYLATION AND IL-4 MRNA EXPRESSION WAS FOUND. AFTER ADJUSTING FOR AGE, GENDER, EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING WITHIN 4 MONTHS AFTER BIRTH AND PARENTAL HISTORY OF ALLERGIC DISEASE, OUT DATA SHOWED THAT PM(2.5) EXPOSURE LEVEL WAS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH METHYLATION LEVEL IN IFN-GAMMA PROMOTER REGION AND DECREASED CYTOKINE EXPRESSION. WE CONCLUDE THAT THE EFFECT OF PM(2.5) ON PEDIATRIC AR MAY BE MEDIATED THROUGH EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF IFN-GAMMA PROMOTER REGION. 2018 15 1632 35 DNMTS ARE INVOLVED IN TGF-BETA1-INDUCED EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL TRANSITIONS IN AIRWAY EPITHELIAL CELLS. CHRONIC RHINOSINUSITIS (CRS) PATHOGENESIS IS CLOSELY RELATED TO TISSUE REMODELING, INCLUDING EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION (EMT). EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS PLAY KEY ROLES IN EMT. DNA METHYLATION, MEDIATED BY DNA METHYLTRANSFERASES (DNMTS), IS AN EPIGENETIC MARKER THAT IS CRITICAL TO EMT. THE GOAL OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE WHETHER DNMTS WERE INVOLVED IN TGF-BETA1-INDUCED EMT AND ELUCIDATE THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS IN NASAL EPITHELIAL CELLS AND AIR-LIQUID INTERFACE CULTURES. GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION AND DNMT ACTIVITY WERE QUANTIFIED. DNMT EXPRESSION WAS MEASURED USING REAL-TIME PCR (QRT-PCR) IN HUMAN CRS TISSUES. MRNA AND PROTEIN LEVELS OF DNMTS, E-CADHERIN, VIMENTIN, ALPHA-SMA, AND FIBRONECTIN WERE DETERMINED USING RT-PCR AND WESTERN BLOTTING, RESPECTIVELY. DNMT1, DNMT3A, AND DNMT3B GENE EXPRESSION WERE KNOCKED DOWN USING SIRNA TRANSFECTION. MAPK PHOSPHORYLATION AND EMT-RELATED TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR LEVELS WERE DETERMINED USING WESTERN BLOTTING. SIGNALING PATHWAYS WERE ANALYZED USING SPECIFIC INHIBITORS OF MAPK. WE DEMONSTRATED THESE DATA IN PRIMARY NASAL EPITHELIAL CELLS AND AIR-LIQUID INTERFACE CULTURES. GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION, DNMT ACTIVITY, AND DNMT EXPRESSION INCREASED IN CRS TISSUES. DNMT EXPRESSION WAS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH LUND-MCKAY CT SCORES. TGF-BETA1 DOSE-DEPENDENTLY INDUCED DNMT EXPRESSION. FURTHER, 5-AZA INHIBITED TGF-BETA1-INDUCED DNMT, SNAIL, AND SLUG EXPRESSION RELATED TO EMT, AS WELL AS P38 AND JNK PHOSPHORYLATION IN A549 CELLS AND TGF-BETA1-INDUCED DNMT EXPRESSION AND EMT IN PRIMARY NASAL EPITHELIAL CELLS AND AIR-LIQUID INTERFACE CULTURES. TGF-BETA1-INDUCED DNMT EXPRESSION LEADS TO DNA METHYLATION AND EMT VIA P38, JNK, SNAIL, AND SLUG SIGNALING PATHWAYS. INHIBITION OF DNMT SUPPRESSED THE EMT PROCESS AND THEREFORE IS POTENTIALLY A CRS THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY. 2022 16 2950 22 GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC DAMAGE INDUCED BY REACTIVE NITROGEN SPECIES: IMPLICATIONS IN CARCINOGENESIS. CHRONIC INFECTION AND INFLAMMATION ARE RECOGNIZED RISK FACTORS FOR HUMAN CANCER AT VARIOUS SITES. INFECTION AND INFLAMMATION CAN ACTIVATE AND INDUCE A VARIETY OF OXIDANT-GENERATING ENZYMES, INCLUDING NADPH OXIDASE AND INDUCIBLE NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASE. REACTIVE OXYGEN AND NITROGEN SPECIES PRODUCED BY SUCH ENZYMES REACT WITH EACH OTHER TO GENERATE NEW AND MORE POTENT REACTIVE SPECIES. THESE OXIDANTS NOT ONLY CAN DAMAGE DNA AND INDUCE MUTATIONS, BUT ALSO CAN ACTIVATE ONCOGENE PRODUCTS AND/OR INACTIVATE TUMOR-SUPPRESSOR PROTEINS, THUS CONTRIBUTING TO MOST PROCESSES OF CARCINOGENESIS. APPROPRIATE TREATMENT OF INFLAMMATION SHOULD BE FURTHER EXPLORED FOR CHEMOPREVENTION OF HUMAN CANCERS, ESPECIALLY THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC INFLAMMATION. 2003 17 1212 31 CPG ISLAND METHYLATION OF THE HTERT PROMOTER IS ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER TELOMERASE ACTIVITY IN B-CELL LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA. OBJECTIVE: EXPRESSION OF THE CATALYTIC SUBUNIT OF THE TELOMERASE ENZYME HTERT IS ESSENTIAL FOR PROLONGING THE REPLICATIVE LIFESPAN AND IS THE RATE-LIMITING STEP IN CELLULAR IMMORTALIZATION AND CARCINOGENESIS. BECAUSE HTERT EXPRESSION IS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH TELOMERASE ACTIVITY, ITS REGULATION IS SUGGESTED AS THE MAJOR DETERMINANT OF ENZYMATIC ACTIVITY. THE HTERT PROMOTER REGION CONTAINS TWO CPG ISLANDS, WHICH ARE KNOWN TO BE TARGET SITES FOR DE NOVO DNA METHYLATION. TO ELUCIDATE THE IMPACT OF THIS EPIGENETIC MECHANISM ON TELOMERASE ACTIVITY, WE ANALYZED THE DEGREE OF HTERT PROMOTER METHYLATION IN 30 PATIENTS WITH B-CELL CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: HTERT PROMOTER METHYLATION WAS ASSESSED USING A METHYLATION-SPECIFIC COMPETITIVE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION ASSAY. THE ASSAY IS BASED ON DIGESTION OF GENOMIC DNA WITH A METHYLATION-SENSITIVE RESTRICTION ENZYME BEFORE AMPLIFICATION WITH AN INTERNAL STANDARD. RESULTS: PATIENTS EXHIBITING HIGH TELOMERASE ACTIVITY SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY LESS METHYLATION OF THE HTERT PROMOTER CORE DOMAIN THAN PATIENTS WITH LOW ENZYME ACTIVITY. IN ADDITION, TELOMERASE ACTIVITY WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH TELOMERE LENGTH AND OVERALL SURVIVAL. CONCLUSIONS: OUR DATA SHOW THAT THE DEGREE OF CPG ISLAND METHYLATION OF THE HTERT PROMOTER EXHIBITS AN IMPACT ON TELOMERASE ACTIVITY IN A SUBGROUP OF PATIENTS WITH B-CELL CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA AND THEREFORE IS ASSUMED TO PLAY A ROLE IN REGULATING HTERT GENE EXPRESSION IN THESE PATIENTS. 2002 18 2019 32 EPIGENETIC CHANGE IN E-CADHERIN AND COX-2 TO PREDICT CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS. BACKGROUND: DNA METHYLATION OF CERTAIN GENES FREQUENTLY OCCURS IN NEOPLASTIC CELLS. ALTHOUGH THE CAUSE REMAINS UNKNOWN, MANY GENES HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED WITH SUCH ATYPICAL METHYLATION IN NEOPLASTIC CELLS. THE HYPERMETHYLATION OF E-CADHERIN AND CYCLOOXYGENASE 2 (COX-2) IN CHRONIC INFLAMMATION SUCH AS CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS MAY DEMONSTRATE MILD LESION/MUTATION EPIGENETIC LEVEL. THIS STUDY COMPARES THE HYPERMETHYLATION STATUS OF E-CADHERIN AND COX-2 GENES WHICH ARE OFTEN FOUND IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS WITH THAT IN CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS. METHODS: TOTAL DNA WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BLOOD SAMPLES OF 108 SYSTEMICALLY HEALTHY NON-PERIODONTITIS SUBJECTS, AND THE GINGIVAL TISSUES AND BLOOD SAMPLES OF 110 CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS PATIENT AS WELL AS NEOPLASTIC TISSUES OF 106 BREAST CANCER PATIENTS. METHYLATION-SPECIFIC PCR FOR E-CADHERIN AND COX-2 WAS PERFORMED ON THESE SAMPLES AND THE PCR PRODUCTS WERE ANALYZED ON 2% AGAROSE GEL. RESULTS: HYPERMETHYLATION OF E-CADHERIN AND COX-2 WAS OBSERVED IN 38% AND 35% OF THE BREAST CANCER SAMPLES, RESPECTIVELY. IN CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS PATIENTS THE DETECTION RATE WAS 25% AND 19% RESPECTIVELY, AND NONE WAS FOUND IN THE SYSTEMICALLY HEALTHY NON-PERIODONTITIS CONTROL SUBJECTS. THE HYPERMETHYLATION STATUS WAS SHOWN TO BE CORRELATED AMONG THE THREE GROUPS WITH STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE (P < 0.0001). THE METHYLATION OF CPG ISLANDS IN E-CADHERIN AND COX-2 GENES IN PERIODONTITIS PATIENTS OCCURS MORE FREQUENTLY IN PERIODONTITIS PATIENTS THAN IN THE CONTROL SUBJECTS, BUT OCCURS LESS FREQUENTLY THAN IN THE BREAST CANCER PATIENTS. CONCLUSIONS: THIS SET OF DATA SHOWS THAT THE EPIGENETIC CHANGE IN E-CADHERIN AND CYCLOOXYGENASE-2 IS ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS. THE EPIGENETIC CHANGES PRESENTED IN CHRONIC INFLAMMATION PATIENTS MIGHT DEMONSTRATE AN IRREVERSIBLE DESTRUCTION IN THE TISSUES OR ORGANS SIMILAR TO THE EFFECTS OF CANCER. CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS TO SOME EXTENT MIGHT BE ASSOCIATED WITH DNA HYPERMETHYLATION WHICH IS RELATED TO CANCER RISK FACTORS. 2010 19 3444 35 HYPERMETHYLATION OF E-CADHERIN IN LEUKEMIA. E-CADHERIN GENE IS OFTEN TERMED A "METASTASIS SUPPRESSOR" GENE BECAUSE THE E-CADHERIN PROTEIN CAN SUPPRESS TUMOR CELL INVASION AND METASTASIS. INACTIVATION OF THE E-CADHERIN GENE OCCURS IN UNDIFFERENTIATED SOLID TUMORS BY BOTH GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS; HOWEVER, THE ROLE OF E-CADHERIN IN HEMATOLOGIC MALIGNANCIES IS ONLY NOW BEING RECOGNIZED. E-CADHERIN EXPRESSION IS ESSENTIAL FOR ERYTHROBLAST AND NORMOBLAST MATURATION, YET EXPRESSION IS REDUCED OR ABSENT IN LEUKEMIC BLAST CELLS. THIS STUDY EXAMINED THE MESSENGER RNA (MRNA) AND PROTEIN EXPRESSION OF THE E-CADHERIN GENE IN BONE MARROW AND BLOOD SAMPLES FROM NORMAL DONORS AND PATIENTS WITH LEUKEMIA. WE FOUND THAT ALL NORMAL DONOR SAMPLES EXPRESSED E-CADHERIN MRNA, WHEREAS BOTH SAMPLES OF ACUTE MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA AND CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA HAD A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION OR ABSENCE OF EXPRESSION. HOWEVER, NORMAL BLAST COUNTERPARTS EXPRESSED ONLY A LOW LEVEL OF E-CADHERIN SURFACE PROTEIN. SODIUM BISULPHITE GENOMIC SEQUENCING WAS USED TO FULLY CHARACTERIZE THE METHYLATION PATTERNS OF THE CPG ISLAND ASSOCIATED WITH THE E-CADHERIN GENE PROMOTER IN THOSE SAMPLES WITH MATCHED DNA. ALL OF THE NORMAL CONTROL SAMPLES WERE ESSENTIALLY UNMETHYLATED; HOWEVER, 14 OF 18 (78%) OF THE LEUKEMIA SAMPLES HAD ABNORMAL HYPERMETHYLATION OF THE E-CADHERIN CPG ISLAND. IN FACT BOTH ALLELES OF THE E-CADHERIN GENE WERE OFTEN HYPERMETHYLATED. WE CONCLUDE THE E-CADHERIN GENE IS A COMMON TARGET FOR HYPERMETHYLATION IN HEMATOLOGIC MALIGNANCIES. 2000 20 3983 39 LONG-TERM EXPOSURE TO CIGARETTE SMOKE EXTRACT INDUCES HYPOMETHYLATION AT THE RUNX3 AND IGF2-H19 LOCI IN IMMORTALIZED HUMAN UROTHELIAL CELLS. CIGARETTE SMOKING IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT EPIDEMIOLOGICAL RISK FACTOR FOR BLADDER CANCER BUT IT IS NOT KNOWN WHETHER EXPOSURE OF UROTHELIAL CELLS TO THE SYSTEMIC SOLUBLE CONTENTS OF CIGARETTE SMOKE IS DIRECTLY CAUSATIVE TO BLADDER CANCER AND THE ASSOCIATED EPIGENETIC CHANGES SUCH AS TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENE HYPERMETHYLATION. WE UNDERTOOK THIS STUDY TO INVESTIGATE IF LONG-TERM TREATMENT OF HUMAN UROTHELIAL CELLS WITH CIGARETTE SMOKE EXTRACT (CSE) RESULTS IN TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENE HYPERMETHYLATION, A PHENOTYPE THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY ASSOCIATED WITH LONG-TERM CONSTANT CSE TREATMENT OF AIRWAY EPITHELIAL CELLS. WE CHRONICALLY TREATED AN IMMORTALIZED HUMAN UROTHELIAL CELL LINE UROTSA WITH CSE USING A CYCLIC DAILY REGIMEN BUT THE CELLS WERE CULTURED IN CSE-FREE MEDIUM BETWEEN DAILY TREATMENTS. BISULFITE SEQUENCING AND REAL-TIME PCR ARRAY-BASED METHYLATION PROFILING WERE EMPLOYED TO EVALUATE METHYLATION CHANGES AT TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENE LOCI IN THE CHRONICALLY CSE-TREATED CELLS VERSUS THE PASSAGE-MATCHED UNTREATED CONTROL CELLS. THE RUNX3 TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENE PROMOTER WAS HYPOMETHYLATED WITH A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN PROPORTION OF THE COMPLETELY UNMETHYLATED HAPLOTYPE AFTER THE LONG-TERM CSE TREATMENT; WHEREAS RUNX3 PROMOTER HYPERMETHYLATION WAS PREVIOUSLY REPORTED FOR BLADDER CANCERS OF SMOKERS. HYPOMETHYLATION INDUCED BY THE LONG-TERM CSE TREATMENT WAS ALSO OBSERVED FOR THE IGF2-H19 LOCUS. THE METHYLATION STATUS AT THE PRSS8/PROSTASIN AND 16 ADDITIONAL LOCI HOWEVER, WAS UNAFFECTED BY THE CHRONIC CSE TREATMENT. TRANSIENT CSE TREATMENT OVER 1 DAILY REGIMEN RESULTED IN TRANSCRIPTIONAL DOWN-REGULATION OF RUNX3 AND H19, BUT ONLY THE H19 TRANSCRIPTION WAS DOWN-REGULATED IN THE CHRONICALLY CSE-TREATED UROTHELIAL CELLS. TRANSCRIPTION OF A KEY ENZYME IN ONE-CARBON METABOLISM, DIHYDROFOLATE REDUCTASE (DHFR) WAS GREATLY REDUCED BY THE LONG-TERM CSE TREATMENT, POTENTIALLY SERVING AS A MECHANISM FOR THE HYPOMETHYLATION PHENOTYPE VIA A REDUCED SUPPLY OF METHYL DONOR. IN CONCLUSION, CHRONIC CYCLIC CSE TREATMENT OF UROTHELIAL CELLS INDUCED HYPOMETHYLATION RATHER THAN HYPERMETHYLATION AT SPECIFIC LOCI. 2013