Objective: To study the DNA methylation of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) promoter in ameloblastoma (AB) and investigate its clinical biological significance.
Methods: DNA methylation of hTERT promoter in 12 cases of AB and 11 cases of normal oral mucosa were detected by methylation-specific PCR.
Results: The positive cases of unmethylated hTERT promoter region in AB and normal oral mucosa were 4 (4/12) and 6 (6/11), respectively (P < 0.001). The positive cases of methylated hTERT promoter region in AB and normal oral mucosa were 11 (11/12) and 3 (3/11), respectively. Four cases of AB and 1 case of normal oral mucosa showed both DNA methylation and unmethylation of hTERT promoter region in the same time.
Conclusions: DNA methylation of of hTERT promoter region in AB was more common than that in normal oral mucosa. The DNA methylation in hTERT promoter maybe regulate hTERT gene expression.