Analysis of DNA methylation profile of tumor suppressor genes in four liver cancer cell lines

Abstract

Objective　To investigate the methylation status of tumor suppressor genes in human liver cancer cell lines，also explore the relationship between methylation and the genesis of liver cancer.Methods　Four cell lines of human liver cancer were used in this study：SMMC­7721，BEL­7404，HepG2 and TJ3ZX­01.DNA methylation profile of 8 genes (APC，DAPK，GSTP1，MGMT，P16，RASSF1A，RIZ1 and SOCS1) in the 4 cell lines was established by methylation specific PCR.Results　GSTP1 methylation was detected in all cell lines.RASSF1A methylation was presented in SMMC­7721 and HepG2，and APC was semi­methylation status in the two cell lines.P16 methylation was only in the SMMC­7721，SOCS1 methylation only in HepG2，and MGMT semi­methylation only in HepG2.RIZ1 and DAPK have no methylation in all 4 cell lines.Conclusions　The methylation profile of tumor suppressor genes may be various according to sources，pathological grade and degree of differentiation of HCC cell lines，suggesting that the different regulatory mechanisms are responsible for gene expression.This study provides in vitro cell model to screen demethylation drugs induce differentiation of liver cancer cells.