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Promoter region methylation does not account for the frequent loss of expression of the Fas gene in colorectal carcinoma
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  • Regular Article
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  • Published: 10 December 1999

Promoter region methylation does not account for the frequent loss of expression of the Fas gene in colorectal carcinoma

  • L M Butler1,
  • A Dobrovic2,3,
  • T Bianco2,3 &
  • …
  • P A Cowled1 

British Journal of Cancer volume 82, pages 131–135 (2000)Cite this article

  • 656 Accesses

  • 25 Citations

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Abstract

Expression of the apoptosis-promoting Fas gene is frequently reduced or lost during the development of colorectal carcinoma. However, loss of heterozygosity at the Fas locus or Fas gene rearrangements do not account for the loss of expression of Fas, raising the possibility that methylation of the Fas promoter may inhibit gene expression in colorectal carcinomas. We have examined the Fas promoter region CpG island for evidence of hypermethylation in colorectal tumours. Forty-seven specimens of colorectal adenoma and carcinoma, as well as six samples of normal colonic mucosa, were examined by Southern blotting for methylation at Hpa II and Cfo I sites in this region. No methylation was detected in any of the specimens, suggesting that hypermethylation is not primarily responsible for the loss of expression of the Fas gene during colorectal tumorigenesis. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaign

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  • 16 November 2011

    This paper was modified 12 months after initial publication to switch to Creative Commons licence terms, as noted at publication

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surger, The University of Adelaide, Woodville, 5011, South Australia, Australia

    L M Butler & P A Cowled

  2. Department of Medicine, The University of Adelaide, Woodville, 5011, South Australia, Australia

    A Dobrovic & T Bianco

  3. Department of Haematology-Oncology, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woodville, 5011, South Australia, Australia

    A Dobrovic & T Bianco

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  1. L M Butler
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  2. A Dobrovic
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  3. T Bianco
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  4. P A Cowled
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From twelve months after its original publication, this work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

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Cite this article

Butler, L., Dobrovic, A., Bianco, T. et al. Promoter region methylation does not account for the frequent loss of expression of the Fas gene in colorectal carcinoma. Br J Cancer 82, 131–135 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1054/bjoc.1999.0889

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  • Received: 22 February 1999

  • Revised: 22 June 1999

  • Accepted: 07 July 1999

  • Published: 10 December 1999

  • Issue date: 01 January 2000

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1054/bjoc.1999.0889

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Keywords

  • CpG island
  • methylation
  • gene silencing
  • apoptosis

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