ABSTRACT
Aberrant epigenetic regulation is a hallmark of neoplastic cells. Increased DNA methylation of individual genes' promoter regions and decreases in overall DNA methylation level are both generally observed in cancer. In solid tumors, this global DNA hypomethylation is related to reduced methylation of repeated DNA elements (REs) and contributes to genome instability. The aim of the present study was to assess methylation level of LINE-1 and ALU REs and total 5-methylcytosine (5metC) content in adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (n = 58), childhood B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (n = 32), as the most frequent acute leukemias in two age categories and in normal adult bone marrow and children's blood samples. DNA pyrosequencing and ELISA assays were used, respectively. Global DNA hypomethylation was not observed in leukemia patients. Results revealed higher DNA methylation of LINE-1 in AML and ALL samples compared to corresponding normal controls. Elevated methylation of ALU and overall 5metC level were also observed in B-cell ALL patients. Differences of REs and global DNA methylation between AML cytogenetic-risk groups were observed, with the lowest methylation levels in intermediate-risk/cytogenetically normal patients. B-cell ALL is characterized by the highest DNA methylation level compared to AML and controls and overall DNA methylation is correlated with leukocyte count.
Subject(s)
DNA Methylation , Gene Expression Regulation, Leukemic , Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell/genetics , Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/genetics , Adolescent , Alu Elements , Base Sequence , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Genomic Instability , Humans , Infant , Long Interspersed Nucleotide Elements , Male , Middle Aged , Molecular Sequence DataABSTRACT
Myogenic factor 5 (Myf5), a product of the Myf5 gene, belongs to the MRF family of basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors that regulate myogenesis. Their roles in muscle growth and development make their genes candidates for molecular markers of meat production in livestock, but nucleotide sequence polymorphism has not been thoroughly studied in MRF genes. We detected four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within exon 1 of the Myf5 gene, encoding the NH-terminal transactivation domain of the Myf5 protein. Three of these mutations change the amino acid sequence. The distribution of these SNPs was highly skewed in cattle populations; most of the mutations were found in only a few or even single individuals. Of the nine SNPs found in the promoter region of Myf5, one (transversion g.-723G-->T) was represented by all three genotypes distributed in the cattle populations studied. This polymorphism showed an influence on Myf5 gene expression in the longissimus dorsi muscle and was associated with sirloin weight and fat weight in sirloin in carcasses of Holstein-Friesian cattle.