ABSTRACT
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is a group of malignancies with heterogeneous genetic and epigenetic alterations. Discovery of molecular markers that better define NHL should improve diagnosis, prognosis and understanding of the biology. We developed a CpG island DNA microarray for discovery of aberrant methylation targets in cancer, and now apply this method to examine NHL cell lines and primary tumors. This methylation profiling revealed differential patterns in six cell lines originating from different subtypes of NHL. We identified 30 hypermethylated genes in these cell lines and independently confirmed 10 of them. Methylation of 6 of these genes was then further examined in 75 primary NHL specimens composed of four subtypes representing different stages of maturation. Each gene (DLC-1, PCDHGB7, CYP27B1, EFNA5, CCND1 and RARbeta2) was frequently hypermethylated in these NHLs (87, 78, 61, 53, 40 and 38%, respectively), but not in benign follicular hyperplasia. Although some genes such as DLC-1 and PCDHGB7 were methylated in the vast majority of NHLs, others were differentially methylated in specific subtypes. The methylation of the candidate tumor suppressor gene DLC-1 was detected in a high proportion of primary tumor and plasma DNA samples by using quantitative methylation-specific PCR analysis. This promoter hypermethylation inversely correlated with DLC-1 gene expression in primary NHL samples. Thus, this CpG island microarray is a powerful discovery tool to identify novel methylated genes for further studies of their relevant molecular pathways in NHLs and identification of potential epigenetic biomarkers of disease.
Subject(s)
Biomarkers, Tumor/genetics , DNA Methylation , Epigenesis, Genetic , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic , Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin/genetics , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Biomarkers, Tumor/metabolism , Blotting, Western , CpG Islands , GTPase-Activating Proteins , Gene Expression Profiling , Genome, Human , Humans , Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell/genetics , Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell/metabolism , Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell/pathology , Lymphoma, B-Cell/genetics , Lymphoma, B-Cell/metabolism , Lymphoma, B-Cell/pathology , Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/genetics , Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/metabolism , Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/pathology , Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin/metabolism , Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin/pathology , Microarray Analysis , Middle Aged , Promoter Regions, Genetic , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , Tumor Suppressor Proteins/genetics , Tumor Suppressor Proteins/metabolismABSTRACT
B cells currently are not viewed as being capable of producing granzyme B or being cytotoxic. We found that B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) cells treated with interleukin-21 (IL-21) produce low levels of granzyme B. The addition of either CpG oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) or anti-B-cell-receptor antibody (anti-BCR) to IL-21 results in enhanced production of functional granzyme B by B-CLL cells. B-CLL cells treated with IL-21 and CpG ODN undergo apoptosis and are able to induce apoptosis of untreated bystander B-CLL cells. This effect can be inhibited by anti-granzyme B antibody. Benign human B cells, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-transformed lymphoblasts, and many standard lymphoma cell lines produce high levels of granzyme B in response to IL-21 and anti-BCR. Our results suggest that the ability to induce production of functional granzyme B by B cells could open new approaches to the therapy of B-CLL and other B-cell malignancies. Our findings also have significant implications for our understanding of the role of B cells for immune regulation and for a variety of immune phenomena, including cancer immunity, autoimmunity, and infectious immunity.
