High frequency of concomitant nm23-H1 and E-cadherin transcriptional inactivation in primary non-inheriting colorectal carcinomas.

This study evaluated the added significance of nm23-H1 to that of E-cadherin in determining metastatic proclivity in primary sporadic colorectal carcinomas (SCRCs). A clinical cohort of 52 SCRCs was examined for the significance of nm23-H1 and E-cadherin mRNA levels and E-cadherin protein expression levels into the progression of colorectal tumor invasion, determined by their relevance compared with conventional biological markers. A more than twofold decreased expression of nm23-H1 mRNA was reported in 28/52 (54%) of the carcinomas and was positively associated with the presence of nodal metastases and Astler-Coller stages B1 and B2 in 29% and 35% of the SCRCs, respectively.

Hypermethylation-associated transcriptional silencing of E-cadherin in primary sporadic colorectal carcinomas.

Loss of E (epithelial)-cadherin expression has been previously documented in sporadic colorectal carcinomas (SCRCs), but not as a consequence of mutations or allelic loss. In this study, the methylation status of the E-cadherin promoter was examined by utilizing the methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP) assay in 63 primary SCRCs and paired adjacent normal tissues. This was correlated with E-cadherin expression at both the RNA and the protein levels using multiplex reverse transcription (RT)-PCR and immunohistochemistry (IHC), respectively.

DNA hypermethylation: when tumour suppressor genes go silent.

The phenotype of the cancerous cell may arise either from genetic alterations that disrupt gene function through sequence modifications (mutations) or epigenetic events that may alter the heritable state of gene expression (i.e. without changing the actual sequence of the genome).

Cytokine serum levels in patients with chronic HCV infection.

The pathogenic role of immune-mediated mechanisms in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has not yet been elucidated. In this study, we report different cytokine expression profiles from hemodialysis (HD) and non-HD HCV (+) patients. IL-1beta, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, TNF-alpha, and TGF-beta1 serum levels, and liver biochemical parameters were determined in 85 individuals (41 HD patients and 44 non-HD patients).