Prognostic significance of aberrant gene methylation in gastric cancer
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CANCER RESEARCH
Authors: Shi, Jing; Zhang, Guanjun; Yao, Demao; Liu, Wei; Wang, Na; Ji, Meiju; He, Nongyue; Shi, Bingyin; Hou, Peng
Abstract
Promoter methylation acts as an important alternative to genetic alterations for gene inactivation in gastric carcinogenesis. Although a number of gastric cancer-associated genes have been found to be methylated in gastric cancer, valuable methylation markers for early diagnosis and prognostic evaluation of this cancer remain largely unknown. In the present study, we used methylation-specific PCR (MSP) to analyze promoter methylation of 9 gastric cancer-associated genes, including MLF1, MGMT, p16, RASSF2, hMLH1, HAND1, HRASLS, TM, and FLNc, and their association with clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcome in a large cohort of gastric cancers. Our data showed that all of these genes were aberrantly methylated in gastric cancer, ranging from 8% to 51%. Moreover, gene methylation was strongly associated with certain clinicopathological characteristics, such as tumor differentiation, lymph node metastasis, and cancer-related death. Of interest, methylation of MGMT, p16, RASSF2, hMLH1, HAND1, and FLNc was closely associated with poor survival in gastric cancer, particularly MGMT, p16, RASSF2 and FLNc. Thus, our findings suggested these epigenetic events may contribute to the initiation and progression of gastric cancer. Importantly, methylation of some genes were closely relevant to poor prognosis in gastric cancer, providing the strong evidences that these hypermethylated genes may be served as valuable biomarkers for prognostic evaluation in this cancer.
Virulence and Diversity of Blumeria graminis f. sp hordei in Israel and in the Czech Republic
PLANT DISEASE
Authors: Dreiseitl, Antonin; Dinoor, Amos; Kosman, Evsey
Abstract
Three hundred and nine isolates were obtained from three natural populations of Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei occurring on wild barley (Hordeum vulgare subsp. spontaneum) at two locations in Israel during 1997 and 1999. Their virulence frequency was determined on 32 differential lines. No isolate was virulent on the differential lines possessing the genes Mla13, mlo, Mlf1, and Mli. and conversely no isolate was avirulent on the differential lines possessing the genes MIRu2, MILa. Mlh. Mla8, Mla25, and Mlj. The frequencies of isolates overcoming the genes Mlg, Mla7, and Mla27 were 0 to 16% at individual locations; frequencies of isolates overcoming the genes Mla9, Mla17, and Mla18 ranged from 37 to 78%, and frequencies of virulences to genes Mla1, Mla3, Mla6, Mlp1, Mlat, Mla12, Mlra, Mlk1, Mla19, Mla20, Mla26, Mla28, Mla29. Mla30, Mla32, and mlt1 were 79 to 99%. Based on examination of 376 isolates collected in the same years from the Czech Republic, these populations differed greatly from the Israeli ones. The Czech populations showed greater diversity of virulence and lower mean virulence complexity than the Israeli populations. Diversity in the Israeli populations differed also among clusters of niches at the same location.