We performed a comprehensive survey of commonly inactivated tumor suppressor genes in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) based on functional reactivation of epigenetically silenced tumor suppressor genes by 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine and trichostatin A using microarrays containing 12599 genes. Among 58 genes identified by this approach, 44 (76%) harbored dense CpG islands in the promoter regions. Thirteen of twenty-two tested gene promoters were methylated in cell lines, and ten in primary ESCC accompanied by silencing at the mRNA level. Potent growth suppressive activity of three genes including CRIP-1, Apolipoprotein D, and Neuromedin U in ESCC cells was demonstrated by colony focus assays. Pharmacologic reversal of epigenetic silencing is a powerful approach for comprehensive identification of tumor suppressor genes in human cancers.

DNA methylation has a role in mediating epigenetic silencing of CpG island genes in cancer and other diseases. Identification of all gene promoters methylated in cancer cells ''the cancer methylome'' would greatly advance our understanding of gene regulatory networks in tumorigenesis. We previously described a new method of identifying methylated tumor suppressor genes based on pharmacologic unmasking of the promoter region and detection of re-expression on microarray analysis. In this study, we modified and greatly improved the selection of candidates based on new promoter structure algorithm and microarray data generated from 20 cancer cell lines of 5 major cancer types. We identified a set of 200 candidate genes that cluster throughout the genome of which 25 were previously reported as harboring cancer-specific promoter methylation. The remaining 175 genes were tested for promoter methylation by bisulfite sequencing or methylation-specific PCR (MSP). Eighty-two of 175 (47%) genes were found to be methylated in cell lines, and 53 of these 82 genes (65%) were methylated in primary tumor tissues. From these 53 genes, cancer-specific methylation was identified in 28 genes (28 of 53; 53%). Furthermore, we tested 8 of the 28 newly identified cancer-specific methylated genes with quantitative MSP in a panel of 300 primary tumors representing 13 types of cancer. We found cancer-specific methylation of at least one gene with high frequency in all cancer types. Identification of a large number of genes with cancer-specific methylation provides new targets for diagnostic and therapeutic intervention, and opens fertile avenues for basic research in tumor biology.

To identify novel methylated gene promoters, we compared differential RNA expression profiles of colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines with or without treatment of 5-aza-2 0 -deoxycytidine (5-aza-dC). Out of 1776 genes that were initially 'absent (that is, silenced)' by gene expression array analysis, we selected 163 genes that were increased after 5-aza-dC treatment in at least two of three CRC cell lines. The microarray results were confirmed by Reverse Transcription-PCR, and CpG island of the gene promoters were amplified and sequenced for examination of cancer-specific methylation. Among the genes identified, the deafness, autosomal dominant 5 gene, DFNA5, promoter was found to be methylated in primary tumor tissues with high frequency (65%, 65/100). Quantitative methylation-specific PCR of DFNA5 clearly discriminated primary CRC tissues from normal colon tissues (3%, 3/100). The mRNA expression of DFNA5 in four of five colon cancer tissues was significantly downregulated as compared to normal tissues. Moreover, forced expression of full-length DFNA5 in CRC cell lines markedly decreased the cell growth and colony-forming ability whereas knockdown of DFNA5 increased cell growth in culture. Our data implicate DFNA5 as a novel tumor suppressor gene in CRC and a valuable molecular marker for human cancer.

p63 is a member of the p53 tumor suppressor gene family, which regulates downstream target gene expression by binding to sequence-specific response elements similar to those of p53. By using oligonucleotide expression microarray analysis and analyzing the promoters of p63-induced genes, we have identified novel p63-specific response elements (p63-REs) in the promoter regions of EVPL and SMARCD3. These p63-REs exhibit characteristic differences from the canonical p53-RE (RRRCWWGYYY) in both the core-binding element (CWWG) as well as the RRR and/or YYY stretches. Luciferase assays on mutagenized promoter constructs followed by electromobility shift analysis showed that p53 preferentially activates and binds to the RRRCATGYYY sequence, whereas p63 preferentially activates RRRCGTGYYY. Whereas EVPL protein is highly expressed in epithelial cells of the skin and pharynx in the p63 ؉/؉ mouse, it is undetectable in these tissues in the p63 ؊/؊ mouse. Our results indicate that p63 can regulate expression of specific target genes such as those involved in skin, limb, and craniofacial development by preferentially activating distinct p63-specific response elements.p63 is a member of the p53 tumor suppressor gene family. Similar to p53, p63 is a transcription factor that activates target genes through sequence-specific DNA binding (35,41,43,52,56). It has been shown that expression of p21 waf-1 , MDM2, and BAX are induced by TAp63s through binding to p53 response elements (p53-REs) (45). In spite of their structural similarities, p63 functions differ greatly from those of p53. The most striking difference is the apparent involvement of p63 in skin and limb development. The p63 knockout mouse exhibits skin and limb defects as well as craniofacial abnormalities (29, 57). On the other hand, the p53 knockout mouse develops normally but is prone to suffering from various cancers from an early age (7). Heterozygous p63 germ line mutations cause several skin and other developmental disorders (1,3,17,28,53). On the other hand, germ line mutations of p53 cause Li-Fraumeni syndrome, in which affected individuals are exceptionally prone to developing cancer (26). p63 complements p53-dependent apoptosis induced by DNA damage. However, p63 itself induces apoptosis to a lesser extent than p53 (12, 42).These differences may be due to the differential regulation of target genes by p53 and p63. The p53 and p63 proteins can bind to two or more tandem repeats of RRRCWWGYYY (p53-RE) or some other motifs and subsequently activate target gene expression (5, 9, 54, 56). In the case of the 14-3-3 promoter, p53 and p63 differentially bind to two distinct response elements (55). Until now, a number of genes have been reported to be targets of p63 and its close relative, p73, such as JAG1, JAG2, IL4R, ⌬Np73, AQP3, and REDD1 (11,30,39,40,59). However, p63-specific response elements (p63-REs) have not yet been defined. Thus, the specific mechanism of gene activation exhibited by p63 and its distinction from that exhibited by p53 remain unclear.In order...