Hypermethylation-repressed methionine adenosyltransferase 1A as a potential biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma

Aim Methionine adenosyltransferase 1A (MAT1A) is inactivated in HCC and may be stimulated by an epigenetic change involving promoter hypermethylation in hepatocarcinogenesis. However, the possible clinical impact and prognosis of this inactivation have not been investigated. Methods We studied the methylation status of the CpG sites in the promoter region and the mRNA and protein expression of MAT1A in HCC and corresponding adjacent non‐tumor tissues using methylation‐specific polymerase chain reaction, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry techniques. Results MAT1A promoter methylation was significantly higher in HCC than that in adjacent non‐tumor tissues (P