Hypomethylation of 5'CpG island of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-related protein 1 is associated with its overexpression in colorectal cancer / 中华病理学杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the methylation status of 5'CpG island of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-related protein 1 (IGFBP-rP1) in colorectal cancer and its relationship with gene expression and clinicopathologic parameters.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Semi-quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of IGFBP-rP1 in 46 cases of colorectal cancer and their matched normal mucosa. Methylation-specific PCR (MSP) was applied to evaluate the methylation status of 5'CpG island of IGFBP-rP1. Colon cancer cell lines LoVo and SW620 were treated with demethylation agent 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-aza-dC), followed by RT-PCR and MSP detection.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>At the mRNA level, the expression of IGFBP-rP1 was higher in colorectal cancer tissue than that in the matched normal mucosa (P < 0.05). IGFBP-rP1 was methylated in 28/46 (60.9%) cases of colorectal cancer and 37/46 (80.4%) matched normal mucosa samples (P < 0.05). A negative correlation was found between IGFBP-rP1 expression and its methylation status. The expression of IGFBP-rP1 was restored in LoVo and SW620 after treatment with 5-aza-dC and MSP confirmation of its demethylation status. No relationships was found between the methylation status and clinicopathologic parameters.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>IGFBP-rP1 expression is negatively correlated with its methylation status in colorectal cancer. DNA methylation is one of the mechanisms regulating the expression of IGFBP-rP1. Hypomethylation of IGFBP-rP1 gene with its overexpression plays an important role in the initiation and development of colorectal cancer.</p>