Chinese Journal of Dermatology ›› 2011, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (5): 306-309.

• Original articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Detection of methylation in exon 1 of the survivin gene in condyloma acuminatum (CA) tissue and its significance

  

  • Received:2010-05-25 Revised:2010-12-18 Online:2011-05-15 Published:2011-05-03

Abstract:

Objective To investigate the relationship between the expression of the survivin gene and CpG methylation in exon 1 of the survivin gene in CA tissue, and to study the expression of survivin protein in CA tissue and its modulation mechanism. Methods Tissue samples were obtained from the CA lesions of 30 patients, normal cervix of 10 female controls, and normal foreskin of 10 male controls. Immunohistochemistry was carried out to detect the expression of survivin protein in these specimens, RT-PCR to measure the mRNA expression of survivin, and methylation specific PCR (MSP) to analyze the methylation status of CpG island in the survivin gene exon 1. Results The positivity rate of survivin protein and mRNA was 90% (27/30) and 93.3% (28/30) in CA tissue specimens, respectively, 5% (1/20) and 5% (1/20) in control tissue specimens, respectively; there was a significant difference between the two groups of specimens in both the parameters (χ2 = 35.187, 38.437, both P < 0.01). The demethylation of CpG island in the survivin gene exon 1 was observed in 86.7% (26/30) of the CA tissue specimens and in 15% (3/20) of the control tissue specimens (χ2 = 10.865, P < 0.01). There was a positive correlation between the demethylation status of CpG island in exon 1 and the mRNA expression of survivin gene (χ2 = 13.929, P = 0.014). Conclusions The expression of survivin protein in CA tissues might be associated with the demethylation of CpG island in exon 1 of the survivin gene, and may play a certain role in the development of CA.

Key words: methylation