Yonago Acta medica 2009;52:85–90
Allele-Specific Expression Analysis of PEG1/MEST in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas
Hideyuki Kataoka, Seiji Nakano*, Yasuomi Kunimoto, Naoko Sugie*, Mitsuhiko Osaki*, Narikazu Uzawa†, Mitsuaki A. Yoshida‡, Mitsuo Oshimura* and Hiroya Kitano
Division of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Medicine of Sensory and Motor Organs, School of Medicine, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine, Yonago 683-8503, *Division of Molecular Genetics and Biofunction, Department of Biomedical Science, Institute of Regenerative Medicine and Biofunction, Graduate School of Medical Science, Tottori University, Yonago 683-8503, †Maxillofacial Surgery, Maxillofacial Reconstruction and Function, Division of Maxillofacial and Neck Reconstruction, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku 113-8510 and ‡Biodosimetry Section, Department of Radiation Dosimetry, Research Center for Radiation Emergency Medicine, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba 263-8555 Japan
Genomic imprinting is an epigenetic feature that plays a significant role in carcinogenesis. In this study, we examined the expression status of an imprinted gene, paternally expressed gene 1/mesoderm-specific transcript PEG1/MEST, in 38 cases of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) and in 17 oral squamous cancer cell lines. Loss of imprinting (LOI) of PEG1/MEST was found in 8 of 10 (80%) in tumor specimens, and 6 of 10 (60%) informative cases even in the extracted normal tissue specimens. As for the oral squamous cancer cell lines, LOI was detected in 5 of 8 (62.5%) informative cases in PEG1/MEST. Thus, these data showed that abnormal expression of PEG1/MEST was found at a high frequency in the tumor, the extracted normal tissue specimens and the oral squamous cancer cell lines. PEG1/MEST LOI in extracted normal tissue specimens may have a potential individual cancer risk for HNSCC.
Key words: head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; loss of imprinting; PEG1/MEST
