ePoster

WNT pathway's key regulators display different promoter methylation frequencies in gliomas

Nives Pećina-Šlaus, Anja Kafka, Anja Bukovac, Reno Hrašćan
FENS Forum 2024(2024)
Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center, Vienna, Austria

Conference

FENS Forum 2024

Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center, Vienna, Austria

Resources

Authors & Affiliations

Nives Pećina-Šlaus, Anja Kafka, Anja Bukovac, Reno Hrašćan

Abstract

WNT signaling is aberrantly activated in human tumors including gliomas. Promoter methylation and expression of WNT pathway’s negative regulators, DKK1 and DKK3, and positive, GSK3β, together with two signaling antagonists, SFRP1 and SFRP3, were investigated in human gliomas. Gliomas, paired blood and FFPE slides were collected with patients’ consents and classified according to WHO guidelines. Methylation-specific-PCR was used for promoter analyses, while immunohistochemistry and semi-quantitative score for consequent protein expressions. Different promoter methylation frequencies were observed: DKK3 and DKK1 the highest, 43% and 38%, respectively; SFRP1 followed with 32%, while SFRP4 and GSK3β were less methylated, 16% and 18%, respectively. When assigning methylation to malignancy grades, SFRP1’s methylation was associated to grade IV (P=0.042). Contrary, SFRP4's promoter was significantly more methylated in gliomas grade II when compared to grades III (p=0.004) and IV (p<0.001). Glioblastomas also comprised the lowest number of methylated GSK3β cases and the highest of DKK3. The effect of methylation on protein levels showed that samples with methylated SFRP1 expressed significantly less protein than unmethylated ones (P=0.031). This was contrary to the SFRP4 whose expression significantly decreased in higher grades (p=0.008), which may indicate that silencing was not achieved through promoter methylation. Immunostaining revealed high levels of GSK3β active form (pY216) across all grades. Positive correlation between methylated DKK3 and the expression of active GSK3β (P=0.011) was shown. The results emphasize the importance of methylation for the regulation of WNT signaling in gliomas. The observed changes hold potential as biomarkers and targets for epigenetic-based therapy.

Unique ID: fens-24/pathways-regulators-display-different-3d2ad3af