Background: Most cancers show abnormal DNA methylation and a positive correlation between hypomethylation and tumour progression. Patients and Methods: In our laboratory the extent of DNA methylation in individual nuclei in normal, cancer and non-cancer thyroid tissue samples was quantified according to a previously described method of computer-assisted semi-quantitative analysis. Cancer and non-cancer samples were obtained from nine patients with different thyroid pathologies (one multinodular goitre and eight carcinomas). Quantitative analysis was performed in two sets of samples, i.e. individual nuclei from touch preparations and from tissue sections. Results: In all cancer specimens a statistically significant decrease of heterochromatin methylation was consistently observed. In both sets of samples a direct cot-relation was consistently observed between the extent of chromatin demethylation and the degree of malignancy. Conclusion: Our preliminary results suggest that our method of cell-by-cell detection of intranuclear methylation abnormalities may be a useful tool in early identification of thyroid cancer lesions.
Nuclear methylation levels in normal and cancerous thyroid cells / DE CAPOA, Adriana; Grappelli, Claudio; Volpino, Patrizia; Bononi, Marco; A., Musolino; Ciardi, Antonio; Cavallaro, Antonino; Cangemi, Vincenzo. - In: ANTICANCER RESEARCH. - ISSN 0250-7005. - 24:3 A(2004), pp. 1495-1500.
Nuclear methylation levels in normal and cancerous thyroid cells
DE CAPOA, Adriana;GRAPPELLI, Claudio;VOLPINO, Patrizia;BONONI, Marco;CIARDI, Antonio;CAVALLARO, Antonino;CANGEMI, Vincenzo
2004
Abstract
Background: Most cancers show abnormal DNA methylation and a positive correlation between hypomethylation and tumour progression. Patients and Methods: In our laboratory the extent of DNA methylation in individual nuclei in normal, cancer and non-cancer thyroid tissue samples was quantified according to a previously described method of computer-assisted semi-quantitative analysis. Cancer and non-cancer samples were obtained from nine patients with different thyroid pathologies (one multinodular goitre and eight carcinomas). Quantitative analysis was performed in two sets of samples, i.e. individual nuclei from touch preparations and from tissue sections. Results: In all cancer specimens a statistically significant decrease of heterochromatin methylation was consistently observed. In both sets of samples a direct cot-relation was consistently observed between the extent of chromatin demethylation and the degree of malignancy. Conclusion: Our preliminary results suggest that our method of cell-by-cell detection of intranuclear methylation abnormalities may be a useful tool in early identification of thyroid cancer lesions.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
