Contribution of TET1 to malignant characteristics in digestive cancer cells.

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Ten-Eleven-Translocation (TET) proteins mediate the conversion from 5-methylcytosine to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC), which is an intermediate of DNA demethylation. We aim to elucidate whether TET-mediated DNA demethylation is involved in biological properties in solid cancers. We have reported a loss of global 5-hmC level in a broad spectrum of human tumors. These findings suggest critical roles of abnormal DNA demethylation for oncogenic processes in solid tissues. Next, we focus on the role of TET1 protein in cancers, especially gastrointestinal and hepatic cancers. We found that TET1-depletion suppressed cell proliferation in various cell lines, and gene expression array analysis was carried out to validate responsible genes.