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Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Genome-Wide Analysis of DNA Methylation in Gastrointestinal Cancer
07:50

Genome-Wide Analysis of DNA Methylation in Gastrointestinal Cancer

Published on: September 18, 2020

BCL2L10 is frequently silenced by promoter hypermethylation in gastric cancer

Rintaro Mikata1, Kenichi Fukai, Fumio Imazeki

  • 1Department of Medicine and Clinical Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba 260-8670, Japan.

Oncology Reports
|April 30, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Aberrant methylation silences the BCL2L10 gene in gastric cancer, potentially contributing to tumor development. This gene silencing correlates with reduced BCL2L10 expression, suggesting its role in early gastric carcinogenesis.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Epigenetics

Background:

  • Aberrant methylation frequently silences tumor suppressor genes in gastric cancer.
  • BCL2L10, a pro-apoptotic gene, was previously shown to be repressed by promoter hypermethylation in gastric cancer cells.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the methylation status and expression of BCL2L10 in gastric cancer tissues.
  • To examine the methylation status of p16, RUNX3, and hMLH1 in gastric cancer.
  • To assess the association between gene methylation and EZH2 expression in gastric cancer.

Main Methods:

  • Methylation-specific PCR was used to analyze the methylation status of BCL2L10, p16, RUNX3, and hMLH1 in 21 gastric cancer tissues and corresponding non-neoplastic mucosae.
  • Gene expression levels were assessed.
  • The association between gene methylation and EZH2 expression was examined.

Main Results:

  • Aberrant BCL2L10 methylation was found in 38% of gastric cancers and 24% of non-neoplastic mucosae, correlating with low BCL2L10 expression.
  • Methylation frequencies for p16, RUNX3, and hMLH1 were consistent with previous reports.
  • EZH2 expression was significantly higher in tumors (48%) than in non-neoplastic mucosae (10%), but no significant correlation was found with the methylation of the studied genes.

Conclusions:

  • Silencing of BCL2L10 by aberrant methylation is a common event in gastric cancer.
  • BCL2L10 inactivation may play a role in the early stages of gastric carcinogenesis.

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