Methylation in the promoters of HS3ST2 and CCNA1 genes is associated with cervical cancer in Uygur women in Xinjiang.

We assessed the suitability of HS3ST2 and CCNA1 genes as biomarkers for the early detection of cervical cancer in Uygur women in Xinjiang, China. Methylation-specific PCR (MSP) and HPV (HPV16 and HPV18)-specific PCR were performed on 110 cervical samples: 40 normal cervices, 10 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 1 (CIN1), 10 CIN2, 10 CIN3 and 40 cervical cancer tissues. The expression of the 2 genes was measured by reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) in 10 methylation-positive and 10 methylation-negative cervical tissues. We found that both HS3ST2 and CCNA1 genes were methylated in 38 of the 40 cervical cancer tissues, 9 of the 10 CIN3, and 6 of the 10 CIN2. In contrast, methylation of these 2 genes was found in only 1 of the 40 normal tissues and none of 10 CIN1. Furthermore, hypermethylated HS3ST2 and CCNA1 genes were correlated with infection with HPV16 and HPV18 in high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSILs) and cervical cancer (both p<0.05). The expression of HS3ST2 and CCNA1 genes was lower in the methylation-positive cervical tissues than in the methylation-negative cervical tissues. Our results indicate that HS3ST2 and CCNA1 genes may play important roles in HPV-induced cervical cancer and that patients with specific hypermethylated genes may have a greater risk of progressing to invasive cervical cancer.