Expression and promoter methylation status of hMLH1, MGMT, APC, and CDH1 genes in patients with colon adenocarcinoma

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in men and the second in women worldwide. CRC development is the result of genetic and epigenetic alterations accumulation in the epithelial cells of colon mucosa. In the present study, DNA methylation, an epigenetic event, was evaluated in tumoral and matching normal epithelium in a cohort of 61 CRC patients. The results confirmed and expanded knowledge for the tumor suppressor genes hMLH1, MGMT, APC, and CDH1. Promoter methylation was observed for all the examined genes in different percentage. A total of 71% and 10% of the examined cases were found to be methylated in two or more and in all genes, respectively. mRNA and protein levels were also evaluated. Promoter methylation of hMLH1, MGMT, APC, and CDH1 genes was present at the early stages of tumor’s formation and it could also be detected in the normal mucosa. Correlations of the methylated genes with patient’s age and tumor’s clinicopathological characteristics were also observed. Our findings suggest that DNA methylation is a useful marker for tumor progression monitoring and that promoter methylation in certain genes is associated with more advanced tumor stage, poor differentiation, and metastasis

Attachment of Pseudomonas putida onto differently structured kaolinite minerals: A combined ATR-FTIR and H-1 NMR study

Summarization: The attachment of Pseudomonas (P.) putida onto well (KGa-1) and poorly (KGa-2) crystallized kaolinitewas investigated in this study. Batch experiments were carried out to determine the attachment isotherms of P. putida onto both types of kaolinite particles. The attachment process of P. putida onto KGa-1 and KGa-2 wasadequately described by a Langmuir isotherm. Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance were employed to study the attachment mechanisms of P. putida. Experimental results indicated that KGa-2 presented higher affinity and attachment capacity than KGa-1. It was shown that electrostatic interactions and clay mineral structural disorders can influence the attachment capacity of clay mineral particles.Παρουσιάστηκε στο: Colloids and surfaces B: Biointerface