Farzaneh Jalili - Department of Genetics, Zanjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zanjan, Iran
Golnaz Asaadi Tehrani - Department of Genetics, Zanjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zanjan, Iran
Sina Mirzaahamdi - Department of Genetics, Zanjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zanjan, Iran

Background: Cervical cancer (CC) is the second most common type of cancer among women. A key factor in developing the disease is the human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Aberrant DNA hypermethylation in gene promoter regions is one of the most well-fined epigenetic alterations in tumors. This study aimed to investigate cell adhesion molecule ۱ (CADM۱), promoter methylation in HPV serological positive samples in the Iranian population. Method: Genomic DNA was extracted from cervical smears from patients and healthy patients acting as a control group for this analytical observational case-control investigation. Reverse dot blotting was performed to first identify the presence of HPV DNA infection. After that, each sample was transformed by being treated with sodium bisulfite, and MSP was then used to determine the CADM۱ gene's level of methylation. Results: Among total number of positive HPV samples (n = ۵۲), ۶۳.۵% methylated, ۲۳% hemi-methylated, and ۱۳.۵% were unmethylated. On the contrary, in the control group (n=۳۸), ۱۱% methylated, ۷۱% hemi-methylated, and ۱۸% were unmethylated (P < ۰.۰۰۰۱). Furthermore, comparing the methylation status among high, low and high/low patients indicated that methylation was (۶۶.۶۶, ۲۴.۲۴, and ۹.۰۹%), (۲۵, ۶۶.۶۶, and ۸.۳۳%), and (۱۴.۲۸, ۵۷.۱۴%, and ۲۸.۵۷%), respectively (P < ۰.۰۰۰۱). Conclusion: The present study confirmed that the methylation status of CADM۱ gene was significantly higher in HPV-positive patients than in patients negative for HPV DNA. Moreover, the CADM۱ pattern of the gene was associated with the highrisk subtypes of HPV, not with the low-risk ones. Therefore, CADM۱ methylation appeared to be a promising biomarker for future studies.

Human papillomavirus, Uterine cervical neoplasms, Hypermthylation, Epigenomics