Hypomethylation-induced expression of S100A4 in endometrial carcinoma

Expression of various S100 genes has been associated with clinically aggressive subtypes in a variety of different cancers. We hypothesized that S100A4 would be overexpressed in endometrial carcinoma compared to benign endometrium. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to quantify the mRNA level of S100A4 in benign endometrium (n = 19), endometrioid adenocarcinoma (n = 87), and non-endometrioid tumors (n = 21). Immunohistochemistry was used to verify the results of qRT-PCR and to assess protein localization. Possible mechanisms of S100A4 gene regulation were also examined. S100A4 was overexpressed in the grade 3 endometrioid tumors, uterine papillary serous carcinoma, and uterine malignant mixed mullerian tumor. Expression in grade 1 and grade 2 endometrioid tumors was comparable to that of normal endometrium, which was quite low. Expression was significantly higher in stage III and IV tumors compared with stage I. By immunohistochemistry, S100A4 was expressed in the tumor cell cytoplasm of poorly differentiated tumors, but was not detected in normal endometrial glandular epithelium. In benign endometrium, S100A4 expression was confined to stromal cells. S100A4 was not regulated by estrogen or progesterone, and its expression in tumors was not significantly correlated to estrogen receptor or progesterone receptor content. However, methylation of the S100A4 gene was detected in benign endometrium and grade 1 tumors with low S100A4 expression. In contrast, grade 3 endometrioid tumors with high S100A4 mRNA and protein expression showed no methylation of the gene. These methylation results were verified in endometrial cancer cell lines with differential baseline levels of S100A4 protein. These results suggest that hypomethylation is an important mechanism of regulating the expression of the S100A4 gene. These results support the emerging concept that hypomethylation may play a role in the upregulation of genes during later stages of tumorigenesis.