Abstract
Epigenetic silencing of tumor suppressor genes plays an important role in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) tumorigenesis. In the present study, we explore a novel target gene of epigenetic silencing in NPC, Myocardin, which is inactivated by promoter hypermethylation. Transcriptional expression levels of Myocardin were evaluated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Methylation status was addressed by methylation-specific PCR and bisulfite genomic sequencing. Myocardin mRNA expression was inactivated in 4 of 5 NPC cell lines. Myocardin was aberrantly methylated in 4 of 5 NPC cell lines (80%) and in 48 of 65 NPC primary tumors (73.8%, but not in any of the 12 normal nasopharyngeal tissues tested. Myocardin expression could be reactivated in NPC cells after treatment with the demethylating agent 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-aza-dC). Epigenetic inactivation of Myocardin is a frequent and tumor-specific event in NPC. Our findings suggest that Myocardin is a candidate tumor suppressor gene in NPC.
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