The Optimized Method Of Methylation Specific PCR And Its Application In Lung Cancer

BackgroundsDNA methylation is an epigenetic mechanism of gene regulation. In eukaryotes, enzymatic methylation of cytosine residues at their 5-C position is a common modification of the DNA. There are more than 29 000 CpG islands in human chromosomes. In general, DNA methylation is correlated with gene repression. It is becoming increasingly clear that 'epigenetic' events may also play an important role in many cancers.Early in cancer development, overall methylation is decreased but de novo methylation of some promoter-associated CpG islands occurs. Tumors show characteristic profiles of methylated markers that are specific for given types and subtypes of cancer. Thus, there is considerable potential for using methylation as a tumor-specific marker.Information from the Ministry of Health Peoples Republic of China showed that the morbidity and mortality of lung cancers are the highest in the malignant tumors in 2004 in China. The adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene is a tumor suppressor gene associated with both familial and sporadic cancer. Despite high rates of allelic loss in lung cancers, point mutations of the APC gene are infrequent in these cancer types. So we investigated the methylation rates and expression of the APC promoter...