Abstract
Testicular germ cell tumours of young adults are comprised of a heterogeneous group of non-seminomas and a homogeneous group of seminomas. While the majority of seminomas retain a hypo-methylated genome, a small fraction displays a highly methylated genome, resembling hyper-methylated non-seminomas. It is well established from e.g. melanoma, colorectal and thyroid cancer that a methylated phenotype can be correlated to prognosis and can be related to BRAF mutations. In the present study we investigated the global methylation level in 67 seminomas and classified them as hypo-methylated, intermediate, patchy and hyper-methylated, respectively. A selected subset representing each level of DNA methylation and the TCam2 seminoma cell line were subsequently analysed for a range of other epigenetic marks (6 histone marks and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine), the presence of the BRAF V600E de novo mutation, differences in the transcriptome and finally correlated to the clinical outcome. We did not identify any histone marks or hydroxymethylation levels that correlated with the methylation level of the genome. Some histone marks, however, showed a great variation while others were found at the same level in all the investigated seminomas. We did not identify any tumours with the BRAF V600E mutation and transcriptome analysis revealed no significant differences between hypo- and hyper-methylated seminomas. Similarly, no obvious differences in the clinical manifestation of the patients representing hypo- or hyper-methylated seminomas were identified. The level of DNA methylation in testicular seminomas consequently seems secondary to the manifestation of the tumour phenotype.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.