DNA methylation state of the galectin‑3 gene represents a potential new marker of thyroid malignancy

Keller,Simona; Angrisano,Tiziana; Florio,Ermanno; Pero,Raffaela; Decaussin‑Petrucci,Miriam; Troncone,Giancarlo; Capasso,Mario; Lembo,Francesca; Fusco,Alfredo; Chiariotti,Lorenzo

doi:10.3892/ol.2013.1312

DNA methylation state of the galectin‑3 gene represents a potential new marker of thyroid malignancy

Authors:
- Simona Keller
- Tiziana Angrisano
- Ermanno Florio
- Raffaela Pero
- Miriam Decaussin‑Petrucci
- Giancarlo Troncone
- Mario Capasso
- Francesca Lembo
- Alfredo Fusco
- Lorenzo Chiariotti
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Affiliations: Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology and Pathology, University of Naples, Institute of Experimental Endocrinology and Oncology CNR, Naples, Italy, Department of Pathology, University of Lyon 1, Pierre Bénite, France, Center of Advanced Biotechnology CEINGE, Naples, Italy, Department of Pharmaucetical and Toxicological Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Naples, Naples, Italy
Published online on: April 18, 2013 https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2013.1312
Pages: 86-90

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Abstract

In order to supplement the cytopathological assessment of thyroid tumors, there is a need for new markers to correctly diagnose malignant thyroid lesions and avoid unnecessary and potentially harmful therapies for patients. The immunohistochemical expression of galectin-3 is currently considered to be the most accurate stand-alone marker for thyroid cancer diagnosis. The aim of this study was to establish whether the methylation state of the galectin-3 gene is a candidate molecular marker for thyroid malignancy. Thyroid specimens from 50 patients were analyzed, including 5 normal thyroid, 3 goiters, 39 papillary and 3 anaplastic thyroid carcinoma cases. High-resolution methylation analyses was performed to investigate the methylation state of a large genomic region (from -89 to +408) encompassing the galectin-3 transcriptional start site. Within this region, 5 CpG sites (nucleotide positions +134, +137, +142, +147 and +156) were observed to be differentially methylated among the samples and were further analyzed by the quantitative pyrosequencing technique. The hypomethylation of the +134, +137, +142, +147 and +156 CpG sites was observed to be markedly associated with cancer. Although the methylation degree of each single site was highly variable in non-neoplastic tissues, the average methylation state of the 5 CpG sites clearly distinguished cancer from the non-neoplastic thyroid tissues.

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