DNA Methylation Markers for Prostate Cancer with a Stem Cell Twist

Abstract

This perspective on Ibragimova et al. (beginning on page 1084 in this issue of the journal) highlights the potential role of DNA methylation-based markers in the early detection of prostate cancer (PCa), with a focus on the global reactivation of expression of genes epigenetically silenced in PCa cell lines. Novel findings of these investigators identified four genes methylated specifically in PCa, including the stem cell marker TACSTD2, which seems to discriminate PCa (methylated TACSTD2) from prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (unmethylated). These genes add significantly to the list of epigenetic markers showing promise for clinical early detection of PCa in the near future. Cancer Prev Res; 3(9);

Bioinformatic selection of putative epigenetically regulated loci associated with obesity using gene expression data

“…Tumour-associated calcium signal transducer 2 Signal transduction Fat mass (Groom et al, 2012) Calcium signaling DNA methylation (Groom et al, 2012;Ibragimova et al, 2010;Jeronimo and Esteller, 2010) BMI: body mass index. a Relative to EntrezGene (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene) and Gene Ontology (http://amigo.geneontology.org) databases.…”

“…a Relative to EntrezGene (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene) and Gene Ontology (http://amigo.geneontology.org) databases. association between the TACSTD2 promoter CGI methylation levels and its expression in primary prostate tumour tissues in humans (Ibragimova et al, 2010;Jeronimo and Esteller, 2010).…”

Global Methylation Analysis Identifies PITX2 as an Upstream Regulator of the Androgen Receptor and IGF-I Receptor Genes in Prostate Cancer

“…In addition to antioncogenes, methylation involves genes in DNA repair pathways, microRNAs, and genes involved in premature aging. In the specifi c context of prostate cancer, identifi cation of epigenetically regulated genes is of major clinical relevance in view of concerns associated with current diagnostic markers, in particular prostate specifi c antigen measurement [ 38 ] . A number of genes have been found to be aberrantly methylated in prostate cancer, including GSTP1 (~90 % of cases), RASSF1A (~63 %), and RAR β 2 (~79 %) [ 39 , 40 ] .…”

The emergence of extracellular vesicles in urology: fertility, cancer, biomarkers and targeted pharmacotherapy

“…While TACSTD2 is a cell-surface glycoprotein with little to no expression in normal tissues, it is overexpressed in a number of carcinomas including gastric, oral, pancreatic, colorectal and ovarian cancers. A recent study demonstrated that the differential methylation status of TACSTD2 was able to discriminate prostate cancer (methylated) from prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia ( 60 , 61 ). Given the challenge of large-scale ultracentrifugation to purify EV, Chen's group sought another method as a proof of this concept.…”