Effects of Methylation of FHIT Gene on it’s Protein and mRNA Expression in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Background and objective Fragile histidine triad (FHIT) is a new tumor suppressor gene, whose promoter methylation plays an important role in carcinogenesis. The aim of this study is to explore the effects of CpG island methylation on protein and mRNA expression of FHIT in non-small cell lung cancer, and the roles of FHIT gene in pathogenesis of NSCLC. Methods Methylation and protein expression and transcriptional level of FHIT gene were detected by methylationspecific PCR, Western Blot and RT-PCR in 52 tumor tissues and normal tissues of NSCLC. Results Methylation in the tumor samples was detected at 38.46%, whereas it occurred at lower frequencies (7.69%) in the corresponding normal lung tissues. Protein expression frequencies was 28.8% in the tumor samples, whereas it was 88.5% in the corresponding normal lung tissues. MRNA expression frequencies was 51.9% in the tumor samples and 100% in the corresponding normal lung tissues. Conclusion In NSCLC, FHIT gene promoter methylation frequency was significantly increased with decreased expression, suggesting that FHIT promoter methylation plays a role in lung cancer carcinogenesis.