Altered expression of imprinted genes in patients with cytogenetically normal­acute myeloid leukemia: Implications for leukemogenesis and survival outcomes.

Genomic imprinting, an epigenetic mechanism that regulates gene expression from parental chromosomes, holds substantial relevance in multiple cancers, including hematopoietic malignancies. In the present study, the expression of a panel of 16 human imprinted genes in bone marrow samples from 64 patients newly diagnosed with cytogenetically normal-acute myeloid leukemia (CN-AML) were examined alongside peripheral blood samples from 85 healthy subjects. The validated findings of the present study revealed significant upregulation of seven genes [COPI coat complex subunit gamma 2 (COPG2), H19 imprinted maternally expressed transcript (H19), insulin like growth factor 2 (IGF2), PEG3 antisense RNA 1 (PEG3-AS1), DNA primase subunit 2 (PRIM2), solute carrier family 22 member 3 SLC22A3 and Zinc finger protein 215 (ZNF215)] in patients with CN-AML (P<0.001). Notably, the expression level of H19 exhibited an inverse association with the survival duration of the patients (P=0.018), establishing it as a predictive marker for two- and five-year survival in patients with CN-AML. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that patients with lower H19 expression had superior two- and five-year survival rates compared with those with higher H19 expression. The results of the present study highlighted the association between loss of imprinting and leukemogenesis in CN-AML, underscoring the significance of H19 imprinting loss as a prognostic indicator for unfavorable two- and five-year survival in CN-AML patients.

H19 Promoter DNA Methylation is Lower Among Early Abortion Patients Undergoing IVF Embryo Transfer.

BACKGROUND: H19 is the first long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) found to be associated with gene imprinting. It is highly expressed in the embryonic stage and may have important regulatory effects on human embryonic development. We investigated the differences between the levels of H19 promoter DNA methylation in the chorionic villi of patients who experienced spontaneous abortion (SA) following in vitro fertilization embryo transfer (IVF-ET) and those of patients with a normal early pregnancy (NEP). We also analyzed the associated DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) activity. METHODS: Chorionic villus tissue from patients with SA and NEP were collected. The DNA methylation levels of two CpG islands in the promoter region of the H19 gene in the two groups were detected by bisulfite sequencing, and the mRNA expression of DNMTs was analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: The sample size of each group was 32, and there were no significant differences in baseline data, including age, parity, and body mass index, between the two groups. Among the 7 CpG islands measured, the methylation rates of 3 CpG islands (CpG 1, 6, and 7) were significantly lower in the SA group than in the NEP group (P < 0.01). The methylation levels of the other 4 CpG islands were not significantly different between the two groups. There were no differences in the expression of DNMT1 between the two groups (P > 0.05), but DNMT3a and DNMT3b RNA levels were significantly lower in SA group than in the NEP group (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The lower H19 promoter DNA methylation levels found in the chorionic villi of patients with SA patients following IVF-ET may be explained by decreased expression of DNMT3a and DNMT3b.

The Effect of Metformin on Expression of Long Non-coding RNA H19 in Endometrial Cancer.

Background: Endometrial cancer is the fourth most widespread cancer among females, with a growing prevalence in recent years. Management by combined therapies along with surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy have improved patients' prognoses. Besides, the development of new therapies helps preserve fertility and prognosis in aggressive tumors. The purpose of this research was to identify the efficacy of metformin on the H19 long non-coding RNA expression in endometrial cancer to provide further insight into the pathogenesis and treatment of the disease. Methods: A total of 23 patients with endometrial cancer, diagnosed by biopsy or diagnostic curettage, were recruited and divided into three groups, before and after metformin treatment and placebo. Real-time PCR was used to evaluate the H19 expression in cancer tissue in all patients. Results: : It has been observed that in endometrial tissue of the "after-metformin" treatment group, the H19 expression level was significantly reduced, compared with the "before-metformin" treatment group, but not in comparison with the placebo. These findings indicate that metformin reduced the H19 expression in endometrial cancer. Conclusion: Anti-diabetic drugs, such as metformin, may be beneficial by reducing the H19 expression in endometrial cancer due to the H19 relation to cancer progression.

Expression and correlation analysis of H19, MMP-2, MMP-9 in patients with recurrent spontaneous abortion / 中国医师杂志

Objective:To investigate the expression and correlation of H19, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 in patients with recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA).Methods:Human extravillous trophoblast cell line HTR-8 was cultured in vitro. Lentivirus was used to infect the HTR-8 cell line to over-express or knockdown the expression of H19. The concentrations of MMP-2 and MMP-9 protein in cell culture supernatant were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression levels of H19, MMP-2 and MMP-9 mRNA in villi of patients with RSA were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Spearman correlation analysis was used to understand the correlation between H19 and the expression levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9. Results:After overexpression of H19, the expression levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 mRNA and protein concentration in Lv-ph19 group were significantly higher than those in Lv-vector group ( P<0.05); After interfering with the expression of H19, the expression levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 mRNA and protein concentration in Lv-shH19 group were significantly lower than those in Lv-shcon control group ( P<0.05). The number of spontaneous abortions in patients with recurrent spontaneous abortion was significantly higher than that in the control group ( P<0.05). qRT-PCR showed that the expression levels of H19, MMP-2 and MMP-9 mRNA in villi of patients with RSA were significantly lower than those in the control group ( P<0.05). There was a positive correlation between H19 and the expression levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 ( P<0.05). Conclusions:H19 regulates the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 of trophoblast during early pregnancy, and the abnormal expression of H19, MMP-2, and MMP-9 in human first-trimester villous tissues was related with the incidence of early miscarriage.

Enhancement of Breast Cancer Cell Aggressiveness by lncRNA H19 and its Mir-675 Derivative: Insight into Shared and Different Actions.

Breast cancer is a major public health problem and the leading world cause of women death by cancer. Both the recurrence and mortality of breast cancer are mainly caused by the formation of metastasis. The long non-coding RNA H19, the precursor of miR-675, is involved in breast cancer development. The aim of this work was to determine the implication but, also, the relative contribution of H19 and miR-675 to the enhancement of breast cancer metastatic potential. We showed that both H19 and miR-675 increase the invasive capacities of breast cancer cells in xenografted transgenic zebrafish models. In vitro, H19 and miR-675 enhance the cell migration and invasion, as well as colony formation. H19 seems to induce the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), with a decreased expression of epithelial markers and an increased expression of mesenchymal markers. Interestingly, miR-675 simultaneously increases the expression of both epithelial and mesenchymal markers, suggesting the induction of a hybrid phenotype or mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET). Finally, we demonstrated for the first time that miR-675, like its precursor H19, increases the stemness properties of breast cancer cells. Altogether, our data suggest that H19 and miR-675 could enhance the aggressiveness of breast cancer cells through both common and different mechanisms.

Association of the study between LncRNA-H19 gene polymorphisms with the risk of breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: The H19 is a maternally expressed imprinted gene transcribing a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), which has previously been reported to be involved in tumorigenesis and cancer progression. The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations between two lncRNA-H19 (rs3741219 T>C and rs217727 C>T) gene polymorphisms with the risk of breast cancer (BC). METHODS: In a case-control investigation, we evaluated 150 BC patients and 100 cancer-free subjects in East Azerbaijan Province of Iran. To assess two gene polymorphisms, the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method was used. RESULTS: The genotype frequencies of two lncRNA-H19 (rs217727 C>T and rs3741219 T>C) gene polymorphisms TT + TC/CC and CC + CT/TT have not shown a statistically significant association with the risk of BC (P = 0.065; OR = 0.967; 95% CI, 0.938-0.996) and (P = 0.510; OR = 1.583; 95% CI, 0.399-6.726), respectively. In addition, our findings revealed a significant differences in allele frequencies in lncRNA-H19 rs217727 C>T polymorphism between groups (P = 0.033; OR = 1.985; 95% CI, 1.048-3.761). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggested that rs217727 C>T polymorphism may be involved in the pathogenesis of BC, whereas rs3741219 T>C variation may not be involved in the genetic background of BC in Iranian.

Genetic variation at the long noncoding RNA H19 gene is associated with the risk of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

AIM: The long noncoding RNA H19 and its host micro RNA miR-675 have been found deregulated in cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure tissues. Our aim was to investigate whether the H19 gene variants were associated with the risk of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). PATIENTS & METHODS: We genotyped two H19 tag single nucleotide polymorphisms in 405 HCM patients and 550 controls, and sequenced this gene in 100 patients. RESULTS: The rs2107425 C was significantly increased in sarcomere no-mutation patients (n = 225; p = 0.01): CC versus CT + TT, p = 0.017; odd ratios: 1.51. Sequencing of the H19 coding transcript identified two patients heterozygous carriers for a rare variant, rs945977096 G/A, that was absent among the controls. CONCLUSION: Our study suggested a significant association between H19 variants and the risk of developing HCM.

Research progress of imprinted gene H19 methylation in the field of assisted reproduction / 医学研究生学报

The imprinted gene H19, one of the maternally imprinted gene which had been found long time ago, is highly expressed in early embryo. It mainly concentrates in endoderm and mesoderm which plays an important role in regulating the development of embryos and in control of off spring behavior. More and more studies have shown that the alterations of methylation status in CpG islands of H19 gene imprinted control region will lead to the decline of male sperm quality and female oocyte quality, then affecting human fertility. Imprinting gene H19 is also related to the development of the embryo. This article reviews the progress of methylation of the imprinted gene H19 in assisted reproductive technology.

H19 gene methylation status is associated with male infertility.

The present study investigated the H19 gene methylation status in male infertility. Between March 2013 and June 2014, semen samples were collected from 15 normal fertile males and 15 males experiencing infertility, and routine analysis and sperm morphological assessment were performed. The semen samples were subjected to density gradient centrifugation to separate the sperm fraction, and genomic DNA from the sperms was extracted and treated for bisulfite modification. Following in vitro amplification by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the purified PCR products were cloned into pMD®18-T vectors and successful cloning was confirmed by restriction enzyme digestion. Positive clones were sequenced and the DNA methylation status was analyzed. The overall methylation rate in the normal fertile group was 100% (270/270), whereas in the infertile group the methylation rate was lower at 94.1% (525/558), revealing a statistically significant decrease in overall methylation rate in the infertile patients compared with the control group (χ2=15.12; P<0.001). The average methylation rates of CpG 1, 3 and 6 in the infertile group were statistically different from those in the normal control group (all P<0.05). The abnormal methylation of imprinted gene H19 is associated with male infertility, suggesting that H19 may serve as a biomarker for the detection of defects in human spermiogenesis.

SNP in Differentially Methylated Region Upstream of H19 Gene in Guangdong Han Population.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the single nucleotide polymorphism （SNP） and haplotypes in differentially methylated region （DMR） upstream of H19 gene in Guangdong Han population. METHODS: The PIA typing and restriction enzyme McrBC and HpaⅡ were used to digest the genomic DNA and obtain the individual uniparental DNA template strand. The data of uniparental SNP alleles, genotypes and haplotypes in DMR upstream of H19 gene were obtained by sequencing. RESULTS: A total of 13 SNPs （rs10840167, rs2525883, rs12417375, rs4930101, rs2525882, rs2735970, rs2735971, rs11042170, rs2735972, rs10732516, rs2071094, rs2107425, and rs4930098） and one mutation locus （g7351c） were found. All loci followed the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium （P>0.05） by statistical analysis. Except for rs12417375 （DP=0.279） locus, the DP of remaining 12 SNPs were 0.446-0.614, and the g7351c mutation locus （DP=0.013） was the particular loci of the Southern Chinese Han population. Eight haplotypes （designated as haplotype 1-8） were detected, in which 3 haplotypes had not yet been reported and the DP, PIC, PE and H were 0.891, 0.714, 0.524 and 0.758, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Obtained by PIA typing, the SNP in DMR upstream of H19 gene and its haplotypes genetic marker system have a high determination power and show a good practical value in forensic identification.

SNP in Differentially Methylated Region Upstream of H19 Gene in Guangdong Han Population / 法医学杂志

OBJECTIVES@#To investigate the single nucleotide polymorphism （SNP） and haplotypes in differentially methylated region （DMR） upstream of H19 gene in Guangdong Han population.@*METHODS@#The PIA typing and restriction enzyme McrBC and HpaⅡ were used to digest the genomic DNA and obtain the individual uniparental DNA template strand. The data of uniparental SNP alleles, genotypes and haplotypes in DMR upstream of H19 gene were obtained by sequencing.@*RESULTS@#A total of 13 SNPs （rs10840167, rs2525883, rs12417375, rs4930101, rs2525882, rs2735970, rs2735971, rs11042170, rs2735972, rs10732516, rs2071094, rs2107425, and rs4930098） and one mutation locus （g7351c） were found. All loci followed the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium （P>0.05） by statistical analysis. Except for rs12417375 （DP=0.279） locus, the DP of remaining 12 SNPs were 0.446-0.614, and the g7351c mutation locus （DP=0.013） was the particular loci of the Southern Chinese Han population. Eight haplotypes （designated as haplotype 1-8） were detected, in which 3 haplotypes had not yet been reported and the DP, PIC, PE and H were 0.891, 0.714, 0.524 and 0.758, respectively.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Obtained by PIA typing, the SNP in DMR upstream of H19 gene and its haplotypes genetic marker system have a high determination power and show a good practical value in forensic identification.

The effect of imprinting gene H19 on the gene expression profile of human choriocarcinoma cell line JEG-3 / 重庆医学

Objective To obtain the expression pattern of imprint gene H19 in JEG-3 cell in order to explore the regulation mechanism of H19 on trophoblast cellular biological behavior .Methods After correct identification with sequencing for the recom-binant eukaryotic expression plasmid pRc/CMV which including the whole length of H19 cDNA ,the plasmid was transfected to the cell line JEG-3 .The expression of H19 mRNA was observed and the gene expression profile of three groups of JEG-3 cell were de-tected with Affymetri :U133 plus 2 .0 Array .Results After being transfected with target H 19 gene ,the expression of the mRNA level was significantly increased compared with control group .And the gene expression profile was changed significantly .19 genes were up-regulated ,77 genes were down-regulated .Expression levels of HES1 gene which being choosed as a different expression gene were detected by fluorescence quantitative PCR in severe preeclampsia placenta tissue and normal late pregnant placenta .The expression level of HES1 mRNA in severe preeclampsia placenta decreased significantly than normal late pregnant placenta tissues . Conclusion Many genes induced by H19 have been screened by high-throughput gene chip method .It provides the experimental ba-sis for advanced studying the regulation the cellular biological behavior with H 19 gene .

SNP in Differentially Methylated Region Upstream of H19 Gene in Chinese Kore-an Nationality / 法医学杂志

Objective To investigate SNP and distribution of haplotypes in differentially m ethylated region (DMR) upstream of H19 gene in Chinese Korean nationality in order to provide basic data for forensic application and population genetics research. Methods One hundred and one blood sam ples from unrelat-ed Chinese Korean individuals and 14 blood sam ples from 5 Chinese Korean intergenerational fam ilies which known genetic relationship were collected. The SNP in DMRupstream of H19 gene were investi-gated by PCR-cycle sequencing and McrB Cdigestion followed by PCR . The haplotypes detected by parentally im printed allele (PIA) m ethod and relevant genetic param eters were calculated. Results Thirteen SNPs (rs10840167, rs2525883, rs12417375, rs4930101, rs2525882, rs2735970, rs2735971, rs11042170, rs2735972, rs10732516, rs2071094, rs2107425, and rs4930098) and five haplotypes were detected in 1 174 bp target product in DMRupstream of H19 gene, with 9 SNPs having high discrim ination power as good genetic markers. The average gene diversity (GD) of haplotypes was 0.714. The maternal haplotype was confirm ed correctly by PIAm ethod from McrB C-digested products of genom ic DNA. Conclusion High polym orphism sexist in DMRupstream of H19 gene in Chinese Korean nationality. And determ ination of the maternal haplotype could furtherm ore enhance the forensic identification efficiency of im printed gene.

Relationship between the Expression of H19 and IGF-Ⅱ Imprinted Gene in Newborn Placenta and the Birth Body Mass / 中国医科大学学报

Objective To study the expression of the imprinted gene H19 and IGF-Ⅱ in newborn placenta,and to discuss its influence on the birth body mass of the neonate. Methods The fresh placental tissues from full-term newborn (without trimester of pregnancy complica-tion and placenta and funic abnormality) with normal,high and low birth body mass (12,10 and 8 samples respectively)were collected. The expression of imprinted gene H19 and IGF-Ⅱ mRNA in the placenta were estimated by reakime fluorescence quantitative PCR Results The ex-pression of H19 mRNA in the placenta was negative correlation to the birth body mass (r =-0.403,P = 0.027).The expression of of IGF-H mRNA was positive correlated to the birth body mass (r = 0.444,P = 0.014). The H19 mRNA expression level in the high birth weight neonates (0.21 0.31) was significantly lower than that in the low birth body mass neonates (1.51 2.04)(P= 0.013). But the expression level of IGF-Ⅱ mRNA in the high birth body mass neonates (2.67±3.41) was significantly higher than that in the low birth body mass neonates (0.39±0.33)(P =0.013). Conclusion The expression of H19 and IGF-Ⅱ mRNA was significantly different in the placenta of normal,high and low birth body mass newboms. These two genes may be related to the birth body mass,and there may be some realation-ship between these two genes.

Frequent Biallelic Expression of Insulin-like Growth Factor II (IGF2) in Gynogenetic Ovarian Teratomas: Uncoupling of H19 and IGF2 Imprinting

Human uniparental gestations such as gynogenetic ovarian teratomas provide a model to evaluate the integrity of parent-specific gene expression - i.e. imprinting - in the absence of a complementary parental genetic contribution. The few imprinted genes characterized so far include the insulin-like growth factor-2 gene (IGF2) coding for a fetal growth factor and H19 gene whose normal function is unknown but it is likely to act as an mRNA. IGF2 is expressed by the paternal allele and H19 by the maternal allele. This reciprocal expression is quite interesting because both H19 and IGF2 genes are located close to each other on chromosome 11p15.5. In situ RNA hybridization analysis has shown variable expression of the H19 and IGF2 alleles according to the tissue origin in 11 teratomas. Especially, Skin, derivative of ectoderm, is expressed conspicuously. We examined imprinting of H19 and IGF2 in teratomas using PCR and RT-PCR of exonic polymorphism. H19 and IGF2 transcript could be expressed either biallelically or monoallelically in the teratomas. Biallelic expression (i.e., loss of imprinting) of IGF2 occured in 5 out of 6 mature teratomas and 1 out of 1 immature teratoma. Biallelic expression of H19 occured in 4 out of 10 mature teratomas and 1 out of 1 immature teratoma. Expression levels of H19 and IGF2 transcript using the semi-quantitative RT-PCR had no relation between monoallelic and biallelic expression. Moreover, IGF2 biallelic expression did not affect allele-specificity or levels of H19 expression. These results demonstrate that both genes, H19 and IGF2, can be imprinted, expressed and regulated independently and individually of each other in ovarian teratoma.