Global 5mC and 5hmC levels in sixteen pairs of HCC and non-HCC samples and two HCC cell lines investigated by UPLC-MS/MS

We performed UPLC-MS/MS to investigate global 5mC and 5hmC levels in sixteen pairs of HCC and non-HCC samples and two HCC cell lines (97L and LM6 cells). We found that 5mC and 5hmC were frequently decreased in 71% and 100% of the HCC specimens, respectively, compared with non-HCC specimens. Correspondingly, 5mC and 5hmC levels in the two HCC cell lines remained relatively low.

本研究采用超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法（UPLC-MS/MS），对16对肝细胞癌（hepatocellular carcinoma, HCC）及配对非肝细胞癌组织样本，以及2株肝细胞癌细胞系（97L与LM6细胞）中的全基因组5-甲基胞嘧啶（5-methylcytosine, 5mC）和5-羟甲基胞嘧啶（5-hydroxymethylcytosine, 5hmC）水平进行检测。结果表明，相较于非肝细胞癌组织样本，71%的肝细胞癌标本中5mC水平显著降低，100%的肝细胞癌标本中5hmC水平均出现降低；相应地，两株肝细胞癌细胞系内的5mC与5hmC水平均维持在较低水平。