In addition to genetic changes, the occurrence of epigenetic alterations is associated with accumulation of both genetic and epigenetic events that promote the development and progression of human cancer. Previously, we reported a set of candidate genes that comprise part of the emerging “cancer methylome”. In the present study, we first tested 23 candidate genes for promoter methylation in a small number of primary colon tumor tissues and controls. Based on these results, we then examined the methylation frequency of Oncostatin M receptor-β (OSMR) in a larger number of tissue and stool DNA samples collected from colon cancer patients and controls. We found that OSMR was frequently methylated in primary colon cancer tissues (80%, 80/100), but not in normal tissues (4%, 4/100). Methylation of OSMR was also detected in stool DNA from colorectal cancer patients (38%, 26/69) (cut-off in TaqMan-MSP, 4). Detection of other methylated markers in stool DNA improved sensitivity with little effect on specificity. Promoter methylation mediated silencing of OSMR in cell lines, and CRC cells with low OSMR expression were resistant to growth inhibition by Oncostatin M. Our data provide a biologic rationale for silencing of OSMR in colon cancer progression and highlight a new therapeutic target in this disease. Moreover, detection and quantification of OSMR promoter methylation in fecal DNA is a highly specific diagnostic biomarker for CRC.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the role of the aberrant expression of Transkelolase-like 1 (TKTL1) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) tumorigenesis and to characterize TKTL1 contribution to HNSCC tumorigenesis through aerobic glycolysis and HIF1α stabilization.Experimental Design: TKTL1 promoter hypomethylation and mRNA/protein aberrant expression were studied in human HNSCC tumor samples and normal mucosas. Oncogenic functions of TKTL1 were examined in HNSCC cell line panels and tumor xenograft models with TKTL1 expression construct. The metabolite levels of fructose-6-phosphate, glyceraldehydes-3-phosphate, pyruvate, lactate, and the levels of HIF1α protein and its downsteam glycolytic targets were compared between the TKTL1-expressing and vehicle-expressing HNSCC cells. Meanwhile, the effects of HIF1α/glycolytic inhibitors were evaluated on the TKTL1 transfectants.Results: TKTL1 exhibits high frequency of promoter hypomethylation in HNSCC tumors compared with the normal mucosas, correlating with its overexpression in HNSCC. Overexpression of TKTL1 in HNSCC cells promoted cellular proliferation and enhanced tumor growth in vitro and in vivo. Overexpression of TKTL1 increased the production of fructose-6-phosphate and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate, in turn elevating the production of pyruvate and lactate, resulting in the normoxic stabilization of the malignancy-promoting transcription factor HIF1α and the upregulation of downstream glycolytic enzymes. Notably, the reduction of TKTL1 expression decreased HIF1α accumulation and inhibition with HIF1α and/ or the glycolysis inhibitor could abrogate the growth effects mediated by TKTL1 overexpression.Conclusion: TKTL1 is a novel candidate oncogene that is epigenetically activated by aberrant hypomethlation and contributes to a malignant phenotype through altered glycolytic metabolism and HIF1α accumulation. Clin Cancer Res; 16(3); 857-66. ©2010 AACR.

Cisplatin is among the most widely used cytotoxic anti-cancer agents in solid tumors, however, the development of secondary resistance remains a major obstacle to clinical efficacy. Treatment-related DNA hypermethylation may play a role in creating drug resistant phenotypes by inactivating genes that are required for cytotoxicity. We applied a pharmacologic unmasking approach to detect hypermethylated genes whose inactivation contributes to cisplatin resistance. Utilizing three pairs of isogeneic, cisplatin-sensitive and -resistant cell lines derived from two parental cell lines (KB-3-1 and SCC25), we identified several hundred genes that were down-regulated in each resistant cell line and re-activated by the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-Aza-dC). Among them, 30 genes were common to ≥ 2 cell lines, and/or reported to be down-regulated in previous studies. Bisulfite sequencing confirmed that 14 genes were hypermethylated in resistant cell lines, but not in the sensitive parental cell lines. Six of 14 genes (SAT, C8orf4, LAMB3, TUBB, G0S2, MCAM) were cisplatin-inducible in sensitive, but not in resistant cell lines. siRNA knockdown of two genes, SAT and S100P, increased cell viability with cisplatin treatment in sensitive parental cell lines. S100P knockdown significantly decreased the S-phase fraction (SPF) of parental sensitive cell lines and slowed cell proliferation, which was associated with decreased sensitivity to cisplatin. Based on these findings, we conclude that DNA methylation is a frequent event in cells that are chronically exposed to cisplatin, and that methylation-induced gene silencing may play a role in the development of resistance to cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents.