Hypermethylation of the tumor-suppressor cell adhesion molecule 1 in human papillomavirus-transformed cervical carcinoma cells

Epigenetic modification at CpG islands located on the promoter regions of tumor-suppressor genes has been associated with tumor development in many human cancers. Our study showed that the cell adhesion molecule 1 (CADM1) is downregulated in human papillomavirus (HPV)-infected cervical cancer cell lines via its hypermethylation and demethylation using 5-aza-2′-deoxycyticine (5-aza-dC) restored the expression of CADM1 protein. Overexpression of CADM1 inhibited cell proliferation. p53 was involved in the regulation of CADM1. Our results demonstrate that epigenetic alteration of CADM1 was more frequent in HPV-positive cervical cancers and that restoration of CADM1 expression may be a potential strategy for cervical cancer therapy.