DNA methylation of the RIZ1 tumor suppressor gene plays an important role in the tumorigenesis of cervical cancer

Objective The retinoblastoma protein-interacting zinc finger gene RIZ1 is a tumor suppressor gene and a member of a nuclear histone/protein methyltransferase superfamily. The purpose of the present study was to examine the expression of RIZ1 and evaluate its carcinogenesis in cervical cancer. The relationship between DNA methylation and transcriptional silencing of RIZ1 was investigated in cervical cancer.Methods RIZ1 expression was examined in cervical cancer cell lines and cervical tissues (12 normal and 40 cancerous) by using RT polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Methylation status of the RIZ1 promoter was studied using methylation-specific PCR (MSP).Results RIZ1 expression is reduced or lost in cervical cancers, compared with normal cervical tissues (P Conclusions Reduced expression of RIZ1 may play an important role in the pathogenesis and/or development of cervical cancer, and is considered to be caused in part by aberrant DNA methylation.