Downregulation of N-myc downstream regulated gene 1 caused by the methylation of CpG islands of NDRG1 promoter promotes proliferation and invasion of prostate cancer cells

Current studies tend to consider N-myc downstream regulated gene 1 (NDRG1) as a tumor suppressor gene, inhibiting cell proliferation and invasion. NDRG1 expression in cancer cells is generally low, but the molecular mechanism is unclear. Aberrant methylation of CpG islands (CGIs) in gene promoter was able to inactivate tumor suppressor genes and activate oncogenes, disordering cell proliferation and apoptosis, playing a promotion role in tumor occurrence and progression. The present study was performed to investigate the effect of epigenetic modification of NDRG1 on prostate cancer (PCa) cells. The protein expression in human specimens was measured by immunohistochemical staining. The expression level of NDRG1 was changed by plasmid vectors in PCa cells. These cells were used to study proliferation and invasiveness. NDRG1 expression in normal prostate cells was higher than that in PCa cells. Downregulation of NDRG1 expression enhanced cell proliferation and invasiveness. In contrast, its upregulation could reduce cell proliferation and invasiveness. In PCa cells, the methylation rate of CGIs in the promoter region of NDRG1 was higher than that in normal prostate cells. 5-Aza-CdR, a methylation inhibitor, was able to effectively reverse the aberrant methylation of NDRG1, enhancing its expression, inhibiting cell growth. NDRG1 can inhibit the cell proliferation and invasion of PCa, but its expression level is low. The aberrant methylation of NDRG1 promoter is an important mechanism for gene silencing, playing an important role in tumor occurrence and progression. Therefore, reversing the aberrant methylation of NDRG1 may be used for PCa treatment.