Öz
Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the potential tumor-specific effects of peripheral blood DNA methylation profiles of protocadherin 8 (PCDH8), protocadherin 10 (PCDH10), and protocadherin 17 (PCDH17) genes who belong to the protocadherin gene family, in patients with bladder tumors and healthy controls. The potential association between methylation profiles of the investigated three genes and demographic and/or clinicopathologic data was a second target of the study.
Material and Methods: Genomic DNA extracted from peripheral blood samples of patients with bladder carcinoma (n=80; low-grade: 40, high-grade: 40) and healthy controls (n=40) was subjected to bisulphite modification and methylation-specific PCR for hypermethylation analyses of promoter regions.
Results: PCDH8 methylation profile was observed to be increased with age. Though PCDH10 and PCDH17 methylation patterns did not reflect a difference in patients since partial methylation profiles were also almost completely detected in controls; PCDH8 displayed a more different blood epigenetic profile.
Conclusion: The association of blood methylation pattern of PCDH8 with aging process was shown in our study. We recommend the investigation of the status of PCDH8 methylation in blood in larger cohorts and with more sensitive methods such as MethyLight to draw a more precise conclusion in terms of its effect in bladder carcinoma.