doiSerbia

Frequency of aberrant promoter methylation of p15INK4b and O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase genes in b-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma: A pilot study

Kraguljac-Kurtović Nada (Institut za hematologiju, Klinički centar Srbije, Beograd)
Krajnović Milena (Institut za nuklearne nauke 'Vinča', Beograd)
Dimitrijević B. (Institut za nuklearne nauke 'Vinča', Beograd)
Mihaljević Biljana (Institut za hematologiju, Klinički centar Srbije, Beograd)
Gotić Mirjana (Institut za hematologiju, Klinički centar Srbije, Beograd)
Krtolica Koviljka (Institut za nuklearne nauke 'Vinča', Beograd)

The methylation status of the target promoter sequences of p15INK4B (p15) and O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) genes was studied by methylation-specific PCR in 10 adult patients with de novo B-cell non- Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL). The aberrant hypermethylation of the p15 gene was more frequent (50%) compared to the hypermethylation of the MGMT gene (30%), and was detected in different types of B-NHL in both genes. Hypermethylation of the MGMT gene occurred exclusively in association with the hypermethylation of the p15 gene. All lymphoma patients with hypermethylation of the p15 and/or MGMT genes had a higher clinical stage of the disease (IV - V). We show the association of anemia and/or thrombocytopenia with the hypermethylation of the p15 gene, ascribing the p15 gene as a potential prognostic marker in B-NHL. Comethylation of MGMT with the p15 gene represents a novel finding and presents both genes as candidates for future studies of the hypermethylation profiles of B-NHL.

Keywords: Methylation status, p15INK4B, O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase, B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma