MYC DNA Methylation in Prostate Tumor Tissue Is Associated with Gleason Score.

Increasing evidence suggests a role of epigenetic mechanisms at chromosome 8q24, an important cancer genetic susceptibility region, in prostate cancer. We investigated whether MYC DNA methylation at 8q24 (six CpG sites from exon 3 to the 3' UTR) in prostate tumor was associated with tumor aggressiveness (based on Gleason score, GS), and we incorporated RNA expression data to investigate the function. We accessed radical prostatectomy tissue for 50 Caucasian and 50 African American prostate cancer patients at the University of Maryland Medical Center, selecting an equal number of GS 6 and GS 7 cases per group. MYC DNA methylation was lower in tumor than paired normal prostate tissue for all six CpG sites (median difference: -14.74 to -0.20 percentage points), and we observed similar results for two nearby sites in The Cancer Genome Atlas (p < 0.0001). We observed significantly lower methylation for more aggressive (GS 7) than less aggressive (GS 6) tumors for three exon 3 sites (for CpG 212 (chr8:128753145), GS 6 median = 89.7%; GS 7 median = 85.8%; p-value = 9.4 × 10-4). MYC DNA methylation was not associated with MYC expression, but was inversely associated with PRNCR1 expression after multiple comparison adjustment (q-value = 0.04). Findings suggest that prostate tumor MYC exon 3 hypomethylation is associated with increased aggressiveness.

Pyrosequencing Methylation Analysis.

Pyrosequencing, a real-time sequencing technology, is considered a "gold standard" for quantitative allele quantification at single base resolution. Quantitative bisulfite Pyrosequencing determines DNA methylation level by analyzing artificial "C/T" SNPs at CpG sites within a specific Pyrosequencing assay. The bisulfite Pyrosequencing methylation assay design is DNA strand specific and the primer design should not contain any CpG sites and should be free of high-frequency mutations. Additionally Pyrosequencing assays must be tested for preferential amplification during bisulfite PCR to ensure the sequencing quantification accuracy and reproducibility. Pyrosequencing analysis gives a reproducible measurement of average methylation at several CpG sites within the Pyrosequencing assay directly from a PCR product, rapidly and accurately for many samples at a time. It is therefore well suited for clinical research, validation of whole-genome methylation screening results, and global methylation analysis using repetitive elements including LINE-1, Alu, and Sat2. Pyrosequencing reproducibility and accuracy result in low measurement variance, thereby increasing the likelihood of early detection of small changes in methylation levels that may become apparent in response to treatment. For example, the high reproducibility of the LINE-1 assay is important for detecting the relatively small daily changes in methylation levels associated with hypomethylation. This enables detection of differences in patterns between normal and disease tissue such as in tumor suppresser genes, and to determine global methylation changes in response drug treatments. Relatively low cost and easy automation allows the researcher to increase the experiment's sample population to detect trends that would otherwise not have a sufficient sampling basis for statistical significance.

Technical adequacy of bisulfite sequencing and pyrosequencing for detection of mitochondrial DNA methylation: Sources and avoidance of false-positive detection.

The existence of cytosine methylation in mammalian mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is a controversial subject. Because detection of DNA methylation depends on resistance of 5'-modified cytosines to bisulfite-catalyzed conversion to uracil, examined parameters that affect technical adequacy of mtDNA methylation analysis. Negative control amplicons (NCAs) devoid of cytosine methylation were amplified to cover the entire human or mouse mtDNA by long-range PCR. When the pyrosequencing template amplicons were gel-purified after bisulfite conversion, bisulfite pyrosequencing of NCAs did not detect significant levels of bisulfite-resistant cytosines (brCs) at ND1 (7 CpG sites) or CYTB (8 CpG sites) genes (CI95 = 0%-0.94%); without gel-purification, significant false-positive brCs were detected from NCAs (CI95 = 4.2%-6.8%). Bisulfite pyrosequencing of highly purified, linearized mtDNA isolated from human iPS cells or mouse liver detected significant brCs (~30%) in human ND1 gene when the sequencing primer was not selective in bisulfite-converted and unconverted templates. However, repeated experiments using a sequencing primer selective in bisulfite-converted templates almost completely (< 0.8%) suppressed brC detection, supporting the false-positive nature of brCs detected using the non-selective primer. Bisulfite-seq deep sequencing of linearized, gel-purified human mtDNA detected 9.4%-14.8% brCs for 9 CpG sites in ND1 gene. However, because all these brCs were associated with adjacent non-CpG brCs showing the same degrees of bisulfite resistance, DNA methylation in this mtDNA-encoded gene was not confirmed. Without linearization, data generated by bisulfite pyrosequencing or deep sequencing of purified mtDNA templates did not pass the quality control criteria. Shotgun bisulfite sequencing of human mtDNA detected extremely low levels of CpG methylation (<0.65%) over non-CpG methylation (<0.55%). Taken together, our study demonstrates that adequacy of mtDNA methylation analysis using methods dependent on bisulfite conversion needs to be established for each experiment, taking effects of incomplete bisulfite conversion and template impurity or topology into consideration.

Exploring DNA methylation changes in promoter, intragenic, and intergenic regions as early and late events in breast cancer formation.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer formation is associated with frequent changes in DNA methylation but the extent of very early alterations in DNA methylation and the biological significance of cancer-associated epigenetic changes need further elucidation. METHODS: Pyrosequencing was done on bisulfite-treated DNA from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections containing invasive tumor and paired samples of histologically normal tissue adjacent to the cancers as well as control reduction mammoplasty samples from unaffected women. The DNA regions studied were promoters (BRCA1, CD44, ESR1, GSTM2, GSTP1, MAGEA1, MSI1, NFE2L3, RASSF1A, RUNX3, SIX3 and TFF1), far-upstream regions (EN1, PAX3, PITX2, and SGK1), introns (APC, EGFR, LHX2, RFX1 and SOX9) and the LINE-1 and satellite 2 DNA repeats. These choices were based upon previous literature or publicly available DNA methylome profiles. The percent methylation was averaged across neighboring CpG sites. RESULTS: Most of the assayed gene regions displayed hypermethylation in cancer vs. adjacent tissue but the TFF1 and MAGEA1 regions were significantly hypomethylated (p ≤0.001). Importantly, six of the 16 regions examined in a large collection of patients (105 - 129) and in 15-18 reduction mammoplasty samples were already aberrantly methylated in adjacent, histologically normal tissue vs. non-cancerous mammoplasty samples (p ≤0.01). In addition, examination of transcriptome and DNA methylation databases indicated that methylation at three non-promoter regions (far-upstream EN1 and PITX2 and intronic LHX2) was associated with higher gene expression, unlike the inverse associations between cancer DNA hypermethylation and cancer-altered gene expression usually reported. These three non-promoter regions also exhibited normal tissue-specific hypermethylation positively associated with differentiation-related gene expression (in muscle progenitor cells vs. many other types of normal cells). The importance of considering the exact DNA region analyzed and the gene structure was further illustrated by bioinformatic analysis of an alternative promoter/intron gene region for APC. CONCLUSIONS: We confirmed the frequent DNA methylation changes in invasive breast cancer at a variety of genome locations and found evidence for an extensive field effect in breast cancer. In addition, we illustrate the power of combining publicly available whole-genome databases with a candidate gene approach to study cancer epigenetics.

Prospective study of DNA methylation at LINE-1 and Alu in peripheral blood and the risk of prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that global blood DNA methylation levels may be associated with the risk of various cancers, but no studies have evaluated this relationship for prostate cancer. METHODS: We used pyrosequencing to quantify DNA methylation levels at the long interspersed nuclear element 1 (LINE-1) and Alu repetitive elements in pre-diagnostic blood samples from 694 prostate cancer cases and 703 controls from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial. We evaluated prostate cancer risk associated with the mean methylation level for each element using logistic regression, adjusting for potential confounders. RESULTS: We did not observe a significant association with prostate cancer for LINE-1 [odds ratio (OR) for the highest compared to the lowest quartile = 1.01, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.73-1.39, Ptrend = 0.99] or Alu (OR = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.68-1.29, Ptrend = 0.69) methylation levels overall. However, for Alu, we observed that higher DNA methylation levels were associated with a significant increased risk for those diagnosed 4 or more years after blood draw (OR = 2.26, 95% CI: 1.27-4.00, Ptrend = 4.4 × 10(-3) ). In contrast, there was no association for those diagnosed 2 (OR = 1.13, 95% CI: 0.67-1.90, Ptrend = 0.64) or 3 years after draw (OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 0.71-2.07, Ptrend = 0.32), and a decreased risk for those diagnosed less than 2 years after draw (OR = 0.40, 95% CI: 0.25-0.65, Ptrend = 3.8 × 10(-5) ; Pheterogeneity = 5.3 × 10(-6) ). CONCLUSIONS: Although LINE-1 DNA methylation levels were not associated with prostate cancer, we observed an association for Alu that varied by time from blood draw to diagnosis. Our study suggests that elevated Alu blood DNA methylation levels several years before diagnosis may be associated with an increased prostate cancer risk.

A proteome-scale map of the human interactome network.

Just as reference genome sequences revolutionized human genetics, reference maps of interactome networks will be critical to fully understand genotype-phenotype relationships. Here, we describe a systematic map of ?14,000 high-quality human binary protein-protein interactions. At equal quality, this map is ?30% larger than what is available from small-scale studies published in the literature in the last few decades. While currently available information is highly biased and only covers a relatively small portion of the proteome, our systematic map appears strikingly more homogeneous, revealing a "broader" human interactome network than currently appreciated. The map also uncovers significant interconnectivity between known and candidate cancer gene products, providing unbiased evidence for an expanded functional cancer landscape, while demonstrating how high-quality interactome models will help "connect the dots" of the genomic revolution.

PTSD and DNA Methylation in Select Immune Function Gene Promoter Regions: A Repeated Measures Case-Control Study of U.S. Military Service Members.

BACKGROUND: The underlying molecular mechanisms of PTSD are largely unknown. Distinct expression signatures for PTSD have been found, in particular for immune activation transcripts. DNA methylation may be significant in the pathophysiology of PTSD, since the process is intrinsically linked to gene expression. We evaluated temporal changes in DNA methylation in select promoter regions of immune system-related genes in U.S. military service members with a PTSD diagnosis, pre- and post-diagnosis, and in controls. METHODS: Cases (n = 75) had a post-deployment diagnosis of PTSD in their medical record. Controls (n = 75) were randomly selected service members with no PTSD diagnosis. DNA was extracted from pre- and post-deployment sera. DNA methylation (%5-mC) was quantified at specific CpG sites in promoter regions of insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2), long non-coding RNA transcript H19, interleukin-8 (IL8), IL16, and IL18 via pyrosequencing. We used multivariate analysis of variance and generalized linear models to calculate adjusted means (adjusted for age, gender, and race) to make temporal comparisons of %5-mC for cases (pre- to post-deployment) versus controls (pre- to post-deployment). RESULTS: There were significant differences in the change of %5-mC pre- to post-deployment between cases and controls for H19 (cases: +0.57%, controls: -1.97%; p = 0.04) and IL18 (cases: +1.39%, controls: -3.83%; p = 0.01). For H19 the difference was driven by a significant reduction in %5-mC among controls; for IL18 the difference was driven by both a reduction in %5-mC among controls and an increase in %5-mC among cases. Stratified analyses revealed more pronounced differences in the adjusted means of pre-post H19 and IL18 methylation differences for cases versus controls among older service members, males, service members of white race, and those with shorter deployments (6-12 months). CONCLUSION: In the study of deployed personnel, those who did not develop PTSD had reduced %5-mC levels of H19 and IL18 after deployment, while those who did develop PTSD had increased levels of IL18. Additionally, pre-deployment the people who later became cases had lower levels of IL18 %5-mC compared with controls. These findings are preliminary and should be investigated in larger studies.

Independently evolved virulence effectors converge onto hubs in a plant immune system network.

Plants generate effective responses to infection by recognizing both conserved and variable pathogen-encoded molecules. Pathogens deploy virulence effector proteins into host cells, where they interact physically with host proteins to modulate defense. We generated an interaction network of plant-pathogen effectors from two pathogens spanning the eukaryote-eubacteria divergence, three classes of Arabidopsis immune system proteins, and ~8000 other Arabidopsis proteins. We noted convergence of effectors onto highly interconnected host proteins and indirect, rather than direct, connections between effectors and plant immune receptors. We demonstrated plant immune system functions for 15 of 17 tested host proteins that interact with effectors from both pathogens. Thus, pathogens from different kingdoms deploy independently evolved virulence proteins that interact with a limited set of highly connected cellular hubs to facilitate their diverse life-cycle strategies.

Comparison of bisulfite sequencing PCR with pyrosequencing for measuring differences in DNA methylation.

DNA methylation strongly affects chromatin structure and the regulation of gene expression. For many years, bisulfite sequencing PCR (BSP) has served as the "gold standard" for measuring DNA methylation. However, with the evolution of pyrosequencing as a tool to evaluate DNA methylation, the need arises to compare the relative efficiencies of the two techniques in measuring DNA methylation. We provide for the first time a direct assessment of BSP and pyrosequencing to detect and quantify hypomethylation, hypermethylation, and mixed methylation of the ABCB1 promoter in various drug-sensitive and drug-resistant MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines through head-to-head experimentation. Our findings indicate that although both methods can reliably detect increased, decreased, and mixed methylation of DNA, BSP appears to be more sensitive than pyrosequencing at detecting strong hypermethylation of DNA. However, we also observed greater variability in the methylation of CpG sites by BSP, possibly due to the additional bacterial cloning step required by BSP over pyrosequencing. BSP and pyrosequencing equally detected hypomethylation and mixed methylation of DNA. The ability of pyrosequencing to reliably detect differences in DNA methylation across cell populations without requiring the cloning of bisulfite-treated DNA into bacterial expression vectors was seen as a major advantage of this technique.

Expression and biological effect of urodele fibroblast growth factor 1: relationship to limb regeneration.

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) have been previously implicated in urodele limb regeneration. Here, we examined expression of FGF-1 by blastema cells and neurons and investigated its involvement in wound epithelial formation and function and in the trophic effect of nerves. Neurons innervating the limb and blastema cells in vivo and in vitro expressed the FGF-1 gene. The peptide was present in blastemas in vivo. Wound epithelium thickened when recombinant newt FGF-1 was provided on heparin-coated beads, demonstrating that the FGF-1 was biologically active and that the wound epithelium is a possible target tissue of FGF. FGF-1 did not stimulate accessory limb formation. FGF-1 was as effective as 10% fetal bovine serum in maintaining proliferative activity of blastema cells in vitro but was unable to maintain growth of denervated, nerve-dependent stage blastemas when provided on beads or by injection. FGF-1 had a strong stimulating effect on blastema cell accumulation and proliferation of limbs inserted into the body cavity that were devoid of an apical epithelial cap (AEC). These results show that FGF-1 can signal wound epithelium cap formation and/or function and can stimulate mesenchyme accumulation/proliferation in the absence of the AEC but that FGF-1 is not directly involved in the neural effect on blastema growth.