BioProject

Uterine leiomyomas, or fibroids, represent the most common benign tumor of the female reproductive tract. More...

Uterine leiomyomas, or fibroids, represent the most common benign tumor of the female reproductive tract. Fibroids become symptomatic in 30% of all women and up to 70% of African American women of reproductive age. Epigenetic dysregulation of individual genes has been demonstrated in leiomyoma cells; however, the in vivo genome-wide distribution of such epigenetic abnormalities, however, remains unknown. Principal Findings: We characterized and compared genome-wide DNA methylation and mRNA expression profiles in uterine leiomyoma and matched adjacent normal myometrial tissues from 18 African-American women. We found 55 genes with differential promoter methylation and concominant differences in mRNA expression in uterine leiomyoma versus normal myometrium. Eighty percent of the identified genes showed an inverse relationship DNA methylation status and mRNA expression in uterine leiomyoma tissues, and the majority of genes (62%) displayed hypermethylation associated with gene silencing. We selected two genes, the known tumor suppressors KLF11 and DLEC1, and verified promoter hypermethylation and mRNA repression using bisulfite sequencing and real-time PCR. Incubation of primary leiomyoma smooth muscle cells with a DNA methyltransferase inhibitor restored KLF11 and DLEC1 mRNA levels. Overall design: paired LM and MM tissue samples Less...