Treatment of p-EMT prostate cancer cells with the demethylating drug 5-azacytidine reduces cell aggressiveness and changes methylation profile.

p-EMT prostate cancer cells with EMT inducing transcription factor Zeb1 knocked down show increased aggressiveness compared to completely epithelial or mesenchymal controls. Treatment of aggressive p-EMT cells with the demethylating agent 5-azacytidine decreases cell aggressiveness which is corrlated with changes in the methylation profile of cancer silencing genes. Control and Zeb1 KD pc-3 cancer cells were treated with either DMSO or 5-azacytidine and assessed for changes in methylation of cancer silencing genes to create a p-EMT cancer screening expression profile panel.