Analysis of ABCG2 methylation in stool samples of Chinese healthy males by pyrosequencing.

ABSTRACT

ABCG2, an efflux pump protein-BCRP coding gene, is involved in the acquisition of chemotherapeutic drug resistance. In recent years, the epigenetic regulation of ABCG2, such as DNA methylation, has become a research hotspot and been attracting widespread attention. Methylation Special PCR (MSP) has been the mainly used method for gene methylation detection for a long time. With the development of pyrosequencing (PSQ) instrument and the convenience, simpleness, and economical benefit it brings, it will become the mainstream method for gene methylation detection in the near future. This study aims to establish a pyrosequencing method for detecting the methylation sites on ABCG2 gene promoter up-stream region, the promoter region and the first exon region, and to detect the methylation level of each site in stool samples, respectively. Thus, it cannot only lay the methodological foundation for the study of BCRP-mediated multi-drug resistance mechanisms in tumor cells, but also can give knowledge of ABCG2 methylation distribution in the intestine of Chinese healthy males by detecting the ABCG2 methylation levels in stool samples as the exfoliated intestinal epithelial cells constantly shed into the stool.