Oxidative DNA damage induces hypomethylation in a compromised base excision repair colorectal tumourigenesis

Background: A compromised base excision repair (BER) promotes carcinogenesis by accumulating oxidative DNA-damaged products as observed in MUTYH -associated polyposis, a hereditary colorectal cancer syndrome marked by adenomas and cancers with an accumulation of 8-oxoguanine. Remarkably, DNA global demethylation has been shown to be mediated by BER, suggesting a relevant interplay with early colorectal tumourigenesis. To check this hypothesis, we investigated a cohort of 49 adenomas and 10 carcinomas, derived from 17 MUTYH -associated polyposis patients; as adenoma controls, we used a set of 36 familial adenomatous polyposis and 24 sporadic polyps. Methods: Samples were analysed for their mutational and epigenetic status, measured as global LINE-1 (long interspersed nuclear element) and gene-specific LINE-1 MET methylation by mass spectrometry and pyrosequencing. Results: MUTYH -associated polyposis adenomas were strikingly more hypomethylated than familial adenomatous and sporadic polyps for both DNA demethylation markers ( P =0.032 and P =0.007 for LINE-1; P =0.004 and P