The Epigenetics of Gastrointestinal Malignancies

Aberrant over-expression of TRPM7 ion channels in pancreatic cancer: required for cancer cell invasion and implicated in tumor growth and metastasis

Our previous studies in zebrafish development have led to identification of the novel roles of the transient receptor potential melastatin-subfamily member 7 (TRPM7) ion channels in human pancreatic cancer. However, the biological significance of TRPM7 channels in pancreatic neoplasms was mostly unexplored. In this study, we determined the expression levels of TRPM7 in pancreatic tissue microarrays and correlated these measurements in pancreatic adenocarcinoma with the clinicopathological features. We also investigated the role of TRPM7 channels in pancreatic cancer cell invasion using the Matrigel(TM)-coated transwell assay. In normal pancreas, TRPM7 is expressed at a discernable level in the ductal cells and centroacinar cells and at a relatively high level in the islet endocrine cells. In chronic pancreatitis, pre-malignant tissues, and malignant neoplasms, there is variable expression of TRPM7. In the majority of pancreatic adenocarcinoma specimens examined, TRPM7 is expressed at either moderate-level or high-level. Anti-TRPM7 immunoreactivity in pancreatic adenocarcinoma significantly correlates with the size and stages of tumors. In human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells in which TRPM7 is highly expressed, short hairpin RNA-mediated suppression of TRPM7 impairs cell invasion. The results demonstrate that TRPM7 channels are over-expressed in a proportion of the pre-malignant lesions and malignant tumors of the pancreas, and they are necessary for invasion by pancreatic cancer cells. We propose that TRPM7 channels play important roles in development and progression of pancreatic neoplasm, and they may be explored as clinical biomarkers and targets for its prevention and treatment.

MicroRNA-148b and microRNA-152 reactivate tumor suppressor genes through suppression of DNA methyltransferase-1 gene in pancreatic cancer cell lines

Overexpression of DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT-1) is observed mostly in pancreatic cancer and it can cause tumor suppressor genes silencing in this disease. Recent studies suggest that abnormal expressions of microRNAs (miRs) are involved in pathogenesis of different types of human cancers including pancreatic cancer. In this study we aimed to investigate the effect of miR-148b and -152 on reverting the tumorigenic phenotype of pancreatic cancer cell lines. In order to investigate whether miR-148b and -152 are involved in the regulation of DNMT-1, luciferase reporter assay was used and confirmed that the DNMT-1 mRNA could be a target for miR-148b and miR-152. Furthermore, overexpression of miR-148b and -152 in pancreatic cancer cell lines (MIA PaCa-2 and AsPC-1) decreased DNMT-1 expression (53% and 59% respectively), returned DNA methylation to normal patterns and induced re-expression of tumor suppressor genes, like BNIP3 (4.7- and 3.8-fold) and SPARC (5.3- and 2.9-fold) for miR-148b and -152 respectively. Moreover, the introduced miR-148b and -152 could inhibit the proliferation of MIA PaCa-2 (35% and 37% respectively) and AsPC-1 (39% and 40% respectively) cell lines. The apoptosis rates of MIA PaCa-1 after treatment with miR-148b and -152 were 10% and 8% respectively; while these rates in AsPC-1 were 16% and 11% respectively. Conclusively these findings mean that miRs that are targeting DNMT-1 and modifying methylation status of tumor suppressor genes such as BNIP3 and SPARC can be applied in killing the pancreatic cancer cells and decreasing the tumorigenicity of these cells.