Figure 2

EGFR expression patterns in ovarian cancer with hypermethylated promoter-mediated BRCA1 inactivation. A, the location of CpG sites in the core promoter region of the BRCA1. Genomic coordinates are shown, along with the primer-amplified fragments, GC percentage, location of individual CpG dinucleotides (dashes), and BRCA1 RefSeq gene (exon 1 is shown as a blue box and the intron is shown as an arrowed line). The arrow indicates the direction of transcription. B and C, comparative analysis of methylation patterns in the core promoter region of BRCA1 in ovarian cancer and adjacent normal tissue. The circles correspond to the CpG sites denoted by black dashes in A. Closed circles, methylation; open circles, unmethylated. Ten individual clones were sequenced for each sample. D and G, summary of the methylation levels of BRCA1 core promoter from the measurements shown in B and C, respectively. E and H, relative BRCA1 mRNA levels were measured in ovarian cancer with identified hypermethylated or unmethylated BRCA1 promoter, compared with their adjacent normal tissue. F and I, relative EGFR mRNA levels were measured in ovarian cancer with identified BRCA1 inactivation or not, respectively. Bar graphs show mean ± SD. * P < 0.05 vs. normal.