Project description:The aim of this study was to identify new candidate genes that are differentially methylated in squamous cell carcinoma compared to the DNA samples from cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 (CIN3) and normal cervical scrapes. The Illumina Infinium Human Methylation 450 K BeadChip method identifies genome-wide DNA methylation changes in CpG islands, CpG shores and shelves. In this study 20 normal cervical samples (HPV negative), 18 samples with CIN3 lesions (HPV positive) and 6 cervical cancer tissues (HPV positive) were included.
Project description:Cervical cancer is characterized by a well-defined pre-malignant phase, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). Identification of high grade CIN lesions by population-based screening programs and their subsequent treatment has led to a significant reduction of the incidence and mortality of cervical cancer. Cytology-based testing of cervical smears is the most widely used cervical cancer screening method, but is not ideal, as the sensitivity for detection of CIN2 and higher (CIN2+) is only ~55%. Therefore, more sensitive and specific biomarkers for cervical cancer and its precancerous stages are needed.
Project description:Epigenetic alterations are essential in the development of cancers, while epigenome-wide exploration in cervical cancer has been limited. In this epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) we explore differential DNA methylation signatures associated with CIN (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia) grade 3 and cervical cancer, to better understand potential drivers and biomarkers of cervical carcinogenesis. 247 women were recruited between 2014-2020 (N=119 benign, N=74 CIN3/CGIN (cervical glandular intraepithelial neoplasia) and N=54 cancer). Methylation signatures were obtained from exfoliated cervical cells and sequenced using the Illumina 850k array. Logistic regression and conditional analyses were used to test for independent associations between Cytosine-phosphate-Guanine (CpG) sites and case-control status, with adjustment for batch, chip, age, and human papillomavirus (HPV) status. 409 CpG sites were strongly associated with CIN3/cancer (P-value <5x10-8). Following conditional analysis, two CpG sites located in PAX1 (cg16767801) and NREP-AS1 genes (cg23642047) were independently associated with case status; yielding an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.92 (AUC=0.97 for invasive disease). In a validation dataset (CIN3 only) PAX1/NREP-AS1 yielded a combined AUC of 0.77. Methylation markers offer promise for use in cervical screening particularly as triage tests and self-sampling. We have identified a novel combined methylation marker that offers a high accuracy for detection of CIN3 or worse.
Project description:Epigenetic modifications, such as aberrant DNA promoter methylation is frequently observed in cervical cancer. Identification of hypermethylated regions maybe useful for discrimination between normal cervical epithelium and high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2/3) or worse may improve current cervical cancer population-based screening programs. In this study, the DNA methylome of high-grade CIN lesions were characterised using genome-wide methylation screening to identify potential biomarkers for early diagnosis of cervical neoplasia. Methyl-DNA Immunoprecipitation (MeDIP) combined with DNA microarray was used to compare DNA methylation profiles of epithelial cells derived from high-grade CIN lesions with normal cervical epithelium resulting in the identification of hypermethylated differentially methylated regions (DMRs). Validation of 9 selected DMRs by MSP or BSP in cervical tissue revealed methylation in 63.2-94.7% high-grade CIN and in 59.3-100% cervical carcinomas. QMSP for the two most significant high-grade CIN-specific methylation markers was applied exploring test performance in a large series of cervical scrapings. Frequency and relative level of methylation were significantly different between normal and cancer samples (p<0.001). Clinical validation of both markers in cervical scrapings from patients referred with an abnormal cervical smear, confirmed that frequency and relative level of methylation were related with increasing severity of the underlying CIN lesion (p<0.001) and the ROC analysis was discriminative (p<0.005). These possible methylation markers represent COL25A1 and KATNAL2 promoters and their observed increased methylation upon progression is in agreement with their biological function (cytoskeleton regulation). In conclusion, our newly identified hypermethylated DMRs represent specific DNA methylation patterns in high-grade CIN lesions and could be potential biomarkers for early detection. Epigenetic modifications, such as aberrant DNA promoter methylation is frequently observed in cervical cancer. Identification of hypermethylated regions maybe useful for discrimination between normal cervical epithelium and high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2/3) or worse may improve current cervical cancer population-based screening programs. In this study, the DNA methylome of high-grade CIN lesions were characterised using genome-wide methylation screening to identify potential biomarkers for early diagnosis of cervical neoplasia. Methyl-DNA Immunoprecipitation (MeDIP) combined with DNA microarray was used to compare DNA methylation profiles of epithelial cells derived from high-grade CIN lesions with normal cervical epithelium resulting in the identification of hypermethylated differentially methylated regions (DMRs). Validation of 9 selected DMRs by MSP or BSP in cervical tissue revealed methylation in 63.2-94.7% high-grade CIN and in 59.3-100% cervical carcinomas. QMSP for the two most significant high-grade CIN-specific methylation markers was applied exploring test performance in a large series of cervical scrapings. Frequency and relative level of methylation were significantly different between normal and cancer samples (p<0.001). Clinical validation of both markers in cervical scrapings from patients referred with an abnormal cervical smear, confirmed that frequency and relative level of methylation were related with increasing severity of the underlying CIN lesion (p<0.001) and the ROC analysis was discriminative (p<0.005). These possible methylation markers represent COL25A1 and KATNAL2 promoters and their observed increased methylation upon progression is in agreement with their biological function (cytoskeleton regulation). In conclusion, our newly identified hypermethylated DMRs represent specific DNA methylation patterns in high-grade CIN lesions and could be potential biomarkers for early detection. MeDIP with subsequent microarray analysis was performed on DNA isolated from frozen macrodissected epithelial tissue of CIN3 lesions (n=15) and normal cervices (n=10).
Project description:In order to study the molecular mechanism of HPV18 carcinogenesis, we used conditional reprogramming technique to culture normal cervical epithelial cells, cervical intraepithelial Neoplasia HPV18 cells and patient-derived cervical cancer cell lines for 24 h and stimulated with estradiol for 24 h,and collected total RNA samples for mRNA sequencing (RNA-SEQ). Then, Gene expression profiling was performed using RNA-seq data from six groups of cells.
Project description:Comparative analysis of gene expression prodfiles of cervical biopsy from two (2) patients with pre-invasive neoplastic lesions (carcinonma in citu, or high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia) and 2 patients with earliest stage of invasive cancer
Project description:The aim of this study was to identify new candidate genes that are differentially methylated in squamous cell carcinoma compared to the DNA samples from cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 (CIN3) and normal cervical scrapes. The Illumina Infinium Human Methylation 450 K BeadChip method identifies genome-wide DNA methylation changes in CpG islands, CpG shores and shelves.
Project description:Genome-wide DNA methylation profiles in liquid based cytology (LBC) cervical scrapes samples was assessed using the Illumina Infinium Methylation850 BeadChip V1.0B4. The purpose of this study was to identify new candidate genes that are differentially methylated in squamous cell carcinoma compared to the DNA samples from cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade (CIN) and normal cervical scrapes.