Aberrant methylation of the Vimentin gene in hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Recently, it was shown that the Vimentin gene, usually activated in mesenchymal cells, was highly methylated in colorectal carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The methylation status of the Vimentin gene was examined in primary carcinomas and the corresponding normal tissues derived from 43 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) using quantitative methylation-specific PCR (qMSP) and the correlation between the methylation status and the clinicopathological findings was evaluated. RESULTS: Aberrant methylation of the Vimentin gene was detected in 24 out of the 43 (56%) primary HCC. This result suggested that the aberrant methylation of the Vimentin gene was frequent in HCC. Subsequently, clinicopathological data were correlated with the methylation status. A significant difference was observed in the value of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) (p=0.045), maximal tumor size (p=0.048) and TNM stage (p=0.043) between the methylation-positive and -negative cases. CONCLUSION: Aberrant methylation of Vimetin might be an early event in the course of hepatocarcinogenesis.