Investigation of Methylation and Expression Levels in STK32C Gene in Oral Malignant Lesions

Aim: As a result of the array analyses obtained within the scope of the TUBITAK-SBAG-114S497 project conducted by Demokan and his colleagues, STK32C gene was determined as a potential epigenetic biomarker candidate. In this study, the methylation and expression levels of STK32C gene were examined in a larger patient group consisting of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cases; the biomarker potential of this gene in terms of early diagnosis/prognosis evaluation was investigated. Method: DNA and RNA were isolated from tissue samples of 15 OSCC patients, and the methylation and expression levels of the STK32C gene were examined using Quantitative Methylation Specific PCR and Real-Time PCR methods, respectively. Results and Conclusions: In tumor samples of OSCC patients, 93.3% methylation was observed in the promoter region of the STK32C gene. When expression levels were evaluated, expression loss was detected in 53.3% of the samples in tumor tissues compared to normal tissues, while expression increase was observed in 13.3%. Hypermethylation was detected in all patients with decreased expression levels. It is suggested that the loss of expression observed in the STK32C gene due to hypermethylation may play a role in the molecular characterization of a certain subgroup of OSCC patients and that this gene may be a significant biomarker candidate for early diagnosis and prognosis. However, further studies covering larger patient populations are needed to confirm this.