Aberrant gene promoter methylation of p16, FHIT, CRBP1, WWOX, and DLC-1 in Epstein–Barr virus-associated gastric carcinomas

Alterations in global DNA methylation and specific regulatory gene methylation are frequently found in cancer, but the significance of these epigenetic changes in EBV-associated gastric carcinoma (EBVaGC) remains unclear. We evaluated global DNA methylation status in 49 EBVaGC and 45 EBV-negative gastric carcinoma (EBVnGC) tissue samples and cell lines by 5-methylcytosine immunohistochemical staining and methylation quantification. We determined promoter methylation status and protein expression for the p16, FHIT, CRBP1, WWOX, and DLC-1 genes in tissues and studied the correlation between CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) class and clinicopathological characteristics. Changes in gene methylation and mRNA expression in EBVaGC cell line SNU-719 and in EBVnGC cell lines SGC-7901, BGC-823, and AGS were assessed after treatment with 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (5-aza-dC), trichostatin A (TSA), or a combination of both, by methylation-specific PCR and quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Global genomic DNA hypomethylation was more pronounced in EBVnGC than in EBVaGC. Promoter methylation of all five genes was more frequent in EBVaGC than in EBVnGC (p < 0.05). p16 and FHIT methylation was reversely correlated with protein expression in EBVaGC. Most (41/49) EBVaGC exhibited CIMP-high (CIMP-H), and the prognosis of CIMP-H patients was significantly worse than that of CIMP-low (p = 0.027) and CIMP-none (p = 0.003) patients. Treatment with 5-aza-dC and/or TSA induced upregulation of RNA expression of all five genes in SNU-719; meanwhile, individual gene expression increased in EBVnGC cell lines. In summary, EBV-induced hypermethylation of p16, FHIT, CRBP1, WWOX, and DLC-1 may contribute to EBVaGC development. Demethylation therapy may represent a novel therapeutic strategy for EBVaGC.