Aberrant methylation of gene promoters and corresponding loss of gene expression plays a critical role in the initiation and progression of colorectal cancer. An IL-6-type cytokine receptor, leukemia inhibitory factor receptor (LIFR), is a component of cell-surface receptor complexes for multifunctional cytokines such as LIF. Herein, we report that LIFR is methylated in human colon cancer. LIFR promoter was methylated in primary tumor tissues with high frequency (65%, 52/80). Quantitative methylation-specific PCR (TaqMan-MSP) demonstrated differential promoter methylation of LIFR in primary colorectal cancer tissues as compared to normal colon tissues (5%, 4/80). LIFR methylation was not detectable in 13 normal colon mucosa samples obtained from patients without cancer. The mRNA expression of LIFR was significantly down-regulated in colon cancer tissues as compared to corresponding normal tissues. A strong expression of LIFR protein was observed in all non-malignant normal and adjacent normal colon mucosa tissues whereas down-regulated LIFR protein expression was observed in primary tumors. These results demonstrate that cancer-specific methylation and a specific decrease of LIFR expression are a common inactivation event in colon cancer development.

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