Promoter Methylation of <i>PRKCB</i>, <i>ADAMTS12</i>, and <i>NAALAD2</i> Is Specific to Prostate Cancer and Predicts Biochemical Disease Recurrence

• Main Authors: Kristina Daniunaite, Arnas Bakavicius, Kristina Zukauskaite, Ieva Rauluseviciute, Juozas Rimantas Lazutka, Albertas Ulys, Feliksas Jankevicius, Sonata Jarmalaite
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-06-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: prostate cancer; biochemical recurrence; DNA methylation; <i>ADAMTS12</i>; <i>NAALAD2</i>; <i>PRKCB</i>
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/11/6091
• ISSN: 1661-6596; 1422-0067

The molecular diversity of prostate cancer (PCa) has been demonstrated by recent genome-wide studies, proposing a significant number of different molecular markers. However, only a few of them have been transferred into clinical practice so far. The present study aimed to identify and validate novel DNA methylation biomarkers for PCa diagnosis and prognosis. Microarray-based methylome data of well-characterized cancerous and noncancerous prostate tissue (NPT) pairs was used for the initial screening. Ten protein-coding genes were selected for validation in a set of 151 PCa, 51 NPT, as well as 17 benign prostatic hyperplasia samples. The Prostate Cancer Dataset (PRAD) of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) was utilized for independent validation of our findings. Methylation frequencies of <i>ADAMTS12</i>, <i>CCDC181</i>, <i>FILIP1L</i>, <i>NAALAD2</i>, <i>PRKCB,</i> and <i>ZMIZ1</i> were up to 91% in our study. PCa specific methylation of <i>ADAMTS12</i>, <i>CCDC181</i>, <i>NAALAD2,</i> and <i>PRKCB</i> was demonstrated by qualitative and quantitative means (all <i>p</i> < 0.05). In agreement with PRAD, promoter methylation of these four genes was associated with the transcript down-regulation in the Lithuanian cohort (all <i>p</i> < 0.05). Methylation of <i>ADAMTS12</i>, <i>NAALAD2,</i> and <i>PRKCB</i> was independently predictive for biochemical disease recurrence, while <i>NAALAD2</i> and <i>PRKCB</i> increased the prognostic power of multivariate models (all <i>p</i> < 0.01). The present study identified methylation of <i>ADAMTS12</i>, <i>NAALAD2,</i> and <i>PRKCB</i> as novel diagnostic and prognostic PCa biomarkers that might guide treatment decisions in clinical practice.