Browsing by Subject "primary tumor"

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    Common telomerase reverse transcriptase promoter mutations in hepatocellular carcinomas from different geographical locations
    (WJG Press, 2015) Cevik, D.; Yildiz G.; Ozturk, M.
    AIM: To determine the mutation status of human telomerase reverse transcriptase gene (TERT ) promoter region in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) from different geographical regions. METHODS: We analyzed the genomic DNA sequences of 59 HCC samples comprising 15 cell lines and 44 primary tumors, collected from patients living in Asia, Europe and Africa. We amplified a 474 bp DNA fragment of the promoter region of TERT gene including the 1295228 and 1295250 sequence of chromosome 5 by using PCR. Amplicons were then sequenced by Sanger technique and the sequence data were analyzed with by using DNADynamo software in comparison with wild type TERT gene sequence as a reference. RESULTS: The TERT mutations were found highly frequent in HCC. Eight of the fifteen tested cell lines displayed C228T mutation, and one had C250T mutation with a mutation frequency up to 60%. All of the mutations were heterozygous and mutually exclusive. Ten out of forty-four tumors displayed C228T mutation, and additional five tumors had C250T mutation providing evidence for mutation frequency of 34% in primary tumors. Considering the geographic origins of HCC tumors tested, TERT promoter mutation frequencies were higher in African (53%), when compared to non-African (24%) tumors (P = 0.056). There was also a weak inverse correlation between TERT promoter mutations and murine double minute 2 single nucleotide polymorphism 309 TG polymorphism (P = 0.058). Mutation frequency was nearly two times higher in established HCC cell lines (60%) compared to the primary tumors (34%). CONCLUSION: TERT promoter is one of most frequent mutational targets in liver cancer, and hepatocellular carcinogenesis is highly associated with the loss of telomere-dependent cellular senescence control. © The Author(s) 2015.
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    SIP1 is downregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma by promoter hypermethylation
    (2011) Acun, T.; Oztas, E.; Yagci, T.; Yakicier, M.C.
    Background: Smad interacting protein-1 is a transcription factor that is implicated in transforming growth factor-β/bone morphogenetic protein signaling and a repressor of E-cadherin and human telomerase reverse transcriptase. It is also involved in epithelial-mesenchymal transition and tumorigenesis. However, genetic and epigenetic alterations of SIP1 have not been fully elucidated in cancers. In this study, we investigated mutations and promoter hypermethylation of the SIP1 gene in human hepatocellular carcinomas.Methods: SIP1 expression was analyzed in HCC cell lines and primary tumors in comparison to normal and non-tumor liver tissues by using semi-quantitative RT-PCR, quantitative real-time RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Mutation and deletion screening of the SIP1 gene were performed by direct sequencing in HCC-derived cells. Restoration of SIP1 expression was sought by treating HCC cell lines with the DNA methyl transferase inhibitor, 5-AzaC, and the histone deacetylase inhibitor, TSA. SIP1 promoter methylation was analyzed by the combined bisulfite restriction analysis assay in in silico-predicted putative promoter and CpG island regions.Results: We found that the expression of SIP1 was completely lost or reduced in five of 14 (36%) HCC cell lines and 17 of 23 (74%) primary HCC tumors. Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed that SIP1 mRNA downregulation was associated with decreased expression of the SIP1 protein in HCC tissues (82.8%). No somatic mutation was observed in SIP1 exons in any of the 14 HCC cell lines. Combined treatment with DNA methyl transferase and histone deacetylase inhibitors synergistically restored SIP1 expression in SIP1-negative cell lines. Analysis of three putative gene regulatory regions revealed tumor-specific methylation in more than half of the HCC cases.Conclusions: Epigenetic mechanisms contribute significantly to the downregulation of SIP1 expression in HCC. This finding adds a new level of complexity to the role of SIP1 in hepatocarcinogenesis. © 2011 Acun et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.