• BMB Reports
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• 제57권3호
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• pp.161-166
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• 2024

Aberrant DNA methylation plays a critical role in the development and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC), which has high incidence and mortality rates in Korea. Various CRC-associated methylation markers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis have been developed; however, they have not been validated for Korean patients owing to the lack of comprehensive clinical and methylome data. Here, we obtained reliable methylation profiles for 228 tumor, 103 adjacent normal, and two unmatched normal colon tissues from Korean patients with CRC using an Illumina Infinium EPIC array; the data were corrected for biological and experiment biases. A comparative methylome analysis confirmed the previous findings that hypermethylated positions in the tumor were highly enriched in CpG island and promoter, 5' untranslated, and first exon regions. However, hypomethylated positions were enriched in the open-sea regions considerably distant from CpG islands. After applying a CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) to the methylome data of tumor samples to stratify the CRC patients, we consolidated the previously established clinicopathological findings that the tumors with high CIMP signatures were significantly enriched in the right colon. The results showed a higher prevalence of microsatellite instability status and MLH1 methylation in tumors with high CMP signatures than in those with low or non-CIMP signatures. Therefore, our methylome analysis and dataset provide insights into applying CRC-associated methylation markers for Korean patients regarding cancer diagnosis and prognosis.

• BMB Reports
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• 제56권10호
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• pp.569-574
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• 2023

Aberrant DNA methylation plays a pivotal role in the onset and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC), a disease with high incidence and mortality rates in Korea. Several CRC-associated diagnostic and prognostic methylation markers have been identified; however, due to a lack of comprehensive clinical and methylome data, these markers have not been validated in the Korean population. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to obtain the CRC methylation profile using 172 tumors and 128 adjacent normal colon tissues of Korean patients with CRC. Based on the comparative methylome analysis, we found that hypermethylated positions in the tumor were predominantly concentrated in CpG islands and promoter regions, whereas hypomethylated positions were largely found in the open-sea region, notably distant from the CpG islands. In addition, we stratified patients by applying the CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) to the tumor methylome data. This stratification validated previous clinicopathological implications, as tumors with high CIMP signatures were significantly correlated with the proximal colon, higher prevalence of microsatellite instability status, and MLH1 promoter methylation. In conclusion, our extensive methylome analysis and the accompanying dataset offers valuable insights into the utilization of CRC-associated methylation markers in Korean patients, potentially improving CRC diagnosis and prognosis. Furthermore, this study serves as a solid foundation for further investigations into personalized and ethnicity-specific CRC treatments.

• BMB Reports
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• 제56권10호
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• pp.563-568
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• 2023

DNA methylation regulates gene expression and contributes to tumorigenesis in the early stages of cancer. In colorectal cancer (CRC), CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) is recognized as a distinct subset that is associated with specific molecular and clinical features. In this study, we investigated the genome-wide DNA methylation patterns among patients with CRC. The methylation data of 1 unmatched normal, 142 adjacent normal, and 294 tumor samples were analyzed. We identified 40,003 differentially methylated positions with 6,933 (79.8%) hypermethylated and 16,145 (51.6%) hypomethylated probes in the genic region. Hypermethylated probes were predominantly found in promoter-like regions, CpG islands, and N shore sites; hypomethylated probes were enriched in open-sea regions. CRC tumors were categorized into three CIMP subgroups, with 90 (30.6%) in the CIMP-high (CIMP-H), 115 (39.1%) in the CIMP-low (CIMP-L), and 89 (30.3%) in the non-CIMP group. The CIMP-H group was associated with microsatellite instability-high tumors, hypermethylation of MLH1, older age, and right-sided tumors. Our results showed that genome-wide methylation analyses classified patients with CRC into three subgroups according to CIMP levels, with clinical and molecular features consistent with previous data.

• Annals of Coloproctology
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• 제34권6호
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• pp.280-285
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• 2018

For many years, developmental and physiological differences have been known to exist between anatomic segments of the colorectum. Because of different outcomes, prognoses, and clinical responses to chemotherapy, the distinction between right colon cancer (RCC) and left colon cancer (LCC) has gained attention. Furthermore, variations in the molecular features and gut microbiota between right and LCCs have recently been a hot research topic. CpG island methylator phenotype-high, microsatellite instability-high colorectal cancers are more likely to occur on the right side whereas tumors with chromosomal instability have been detected in approximately 75% of LCC patients and 30% of RCC patients. The mutation rates of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes also differ between RCC and LCC patients. Biofilm is more abundant in RCC patients than LLC patients, as are Prevotella, Selenomonas, and Peptostreptococcus. Conversely, Fusobacterium, Escherichia/Shigella, and Leptotrichia are more abundant in LCC patients compared to RCC patients. Distinctive characteristics are apparent in terms of molecular features and gut microbiota between right and LCC. However, how or to what extent these differences influence diverging oncologic outcomes remains unclear. Further clinical and translational studies are needed to elucidate the causative relationship between primary tumor location and prognosis.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• 제6권4호
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• pp.227-236
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• 2006

목적: 유전자 메틸화는 유전자의 서열에 영향을 주지 않으면서 유전자의 발현을 억제하고 세포분열 후 그대로 보존되는 후성적 변화이다. 위암조직과 정상위조직에서 hMLH1, p16, p14, COX-2, MGMT, E-cadherin 유전자와 MINT (MINT1, 2, 12, 25, 31)의 메틸화 상태를 검사하여 위암의 발생 과정에서의 작용과 CIMP 및 Helicobacter pylori균 감염을 포함한 임상병리학적인자와의 연관성을 알아보고자 하였다. 대상 및 방법: 위암과 정상위 신선 동결 조직 각각 36예를 대상으로 MSP (methylation-specific PCR)방법을 이용하여 메틸화 상태를 분석하였고 CIMP의 분석은 MINT1, MINT2, MINT12, MINT25, MINT31의 5개 marker를 대상으로 시행하였다. Helicobacter pylori균 감염여부는 Warthin-Starry silver 염색을 통하여 분류하였다. 결과: 위암 관련 유전자인 p14, p16, MGMT, COX-2, E-cadherin, hMLH1의 메틸화는 각각 14예(38.9%), 13예(36.1%), 8예(22.2%), 10예(27.8%), 21예(58.3%), 6예(16.7%)였다. MINT1과 MINT25의 메틸화는 위암조직에서 정상위조직에서보다 통계학적으로 유의하게 높게 관찰되었다. CIMP 양성률은 위암조직에서 44.4%로 높게 나타났으며 CIMP-H 위암은 환자의 연령과 종양크기와 연관이 있었다. CIMP 양성 위암은 p16 유전자의 메틸화와 연관이 있었고 p16 유전자의 메틸화는 조직학적으로 저분화, 미만형, 궤양형성하는 위암에서 낮게 나타났다. MINT1의 메틸화는 Helicobacter pylori균과 연관성이 있었다. 결론: 위암에서 hMLH1, p16, p14, COX-2, MGMT, E-cadherin, MINT (MINT1, 2, 12, 25, 31)의 불활성화에 DNA 메틸화가 작용함을 알 수 있었고, Helicobacter pylori균에 의한 위암발생에 MINT1의 메틸화가 연관이 있음을 알 수 있었다.

• BMB Reports
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• 제57권2호
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• pp.110-115
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• 2024

Alterations in DNA methylation play an important pathophysiological role in the development and progression of colorectal cancer. We comprehensively profiled DNA methylation alterations in 165 Korean patients with colorectal cancer (CRC), and conducted an in-depth investigation of cancer-specific methylation patterns. Our analysis of the tumor samples revealed a significant presence of hypomethylated probes, primarily within the gene body regions; few hypermethylated sites were observed, which were mostly enriched in promoter-like and CpG island regions. The CpG Island Methylator Phenotype-High (CIMP-H) exhibited notable enrichment of microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H). Additionally, our findings indicated a significant correlation between methylation of the MLH1 gene and MSI-H status. Furthermore, we found that the CIMP-H had a higher tendency to affect the right-side of the colon tissues and was slightly more prevalent among older patients. Through our methylome profile analysis, we successfully verified the methylation patterns and clinical characteristics of Korean patients with CRC. This valuable dataset lays a strong foundation for exploring novel molecular insights and potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of CRC.

• 대한병리학회지
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• 제52권6호
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• pp.386-395
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• 2018

Background: Previous studies on synchronous colorectal carcinoma (SCRC) have reported inconsistent results about its clinicopathologic and molecular features and prognostic significance. Methods: Forty-six patients with multiple advanced tumors (T2 or higher category) who did not receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy and who are not associated with familial adenomatous polyposis were selected and 99 tumors from them were subjected to clinicopathologic and molecular analysis. Ninety-two cases of solitary colorectal carcinoma (CRC) were selected as a control considering the distributions of types of surgeries performed on patients with SCRC and T categories of individual tumors from SCRC. Results: SCRC with multiple advanced tumors was significantly associated with more frequent nodal metastasis (p=.003) and distant metastasis (p=.001) than solitary CRC. KRAS mutation, microsatellite instability, and CpG island methylator phenotype statuses were not different between SCRC and solitary CRC groups. In univariate survival analysis, overall and recurrence-free survival were significantly lower in patients with SCRC than in patients with solitary CRC, even after adjusting for the extensiveness of surgical procedure, adjuvant chemotherapy, or staging. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that tumor multiplicity was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (hazard ratio, 4.618; 95% confidence interval, 2.126 to 10.030; p<.001), but not for recurrence-free survival (p=.151). Conclusions: Findings suggested that multiplicity of advanced T category-tumors might be associated with an increased risk of nodal metastasis and a risk factor for poor survival, which raises a concern about the guideline of American Joint Committee on Cancer's tumor-node-metastasis staging that T staging of an index tumor determines T staging of SCRC.