Research On The Correlation Between Colorectal Cancer With Spleen Deficiency Syndrome And Methylation Of GATA4 Gene

Epigenetics is the study of genetic changes in phenotypes or gene expressions when the DNA sequence has not changed.It has become a frontier field of concern in the life sciences,and the effect of Chinese herbal compound and its active ingredients to epigenetics is increasingly getting recognized.Traditional Chinese medicine can act on many aspects of epigenetics to regulate the transcription and expression of genes.However,up to now,studies of epigenetic features of TCM syndromes are very weak and studies of epigenetic features of spleen deficiency syndrome in colorectal cancer have not been reported.In view of this,this subject has conducted preliminary research and analysis on the epidemiological characteristics of CRC with spleen deficiency syndrome and the methylation level of GATA4 gene in feces of CRC spleen-deficiency patients,with a view to provide a reference for the modern mechanism revealed from the perspective of molecular biology.Part 1 Epidemiological Study of Spleen Deficiency Syndrome in ColorectalCancerObjective:To discuss the epidemiological characteristics of Spleen Deficiency Syndrome in Colorectal Cancer.Methods:A total of 110 patients diagnosed with CRC with spleen deficiency from March 2016 to May 2017 were collected,while 58 patients with IBS-D with spleen deficiency syndrome were used as a control group.Patients in either group met the relevant TCM differentiation criteria and voluntarily filled out an epidemiological questionnaire which they can guarantee the authenticity of the survey.Results:There are 110 patients with spleen deficiency syndrome in CRC,58 patients with spleen deficiency syndrome in IBS-D.The average age of patients with spleen deficiency syndrome of CRC(63.4±11.8 years old)was higher than the average age of patients with IBS-D with spleen deficiency syndrome(44.2±14.4 years old),and there was a significant difference in age composition between the two groups(P<0.05).There are more man in CRC with spleen deficiency syndrome and IBS-D with spleen deficiency syndrome,but there was no significant difference in gender composition between the two groups(P>0.05).There was no significant difference in smoking between the two groups(P>0.05),but there was statistical difference between the two groups in terms of alcohol consumption(P<0.05).The qi deficiency constitution was the most common in patients with spleen-deficiency syndrome of CRC,and the constitution of yang deficiency was the most common in patients with IBS-D spleen-deficiency syndrome,but there was no statistical difference in the constitution of Chinese medicine between the two groups(P>0.05).The number of spleen deficiency plus dampness heat syndrome was the highest in CRC patients,and the number of spleen deficiency plus liver depression was highest in patients with IBS-D.There was no significant difference in both the distribution of genders of the two groups(P>0.05).Conclusion:CRC with spleen deficiency syndrome is easy to catch dampness and heat syndromes,and IBS-D with spleen deficiency syndrome is easy to catch liver stagnation syndrome.Part II Research on the correlation between CRC with spleen deficiencysyndrome and methylation of GATA4Objective:To explore the correlation between CRC with spleen deficiency syndrome and the methylation of GATA4.Methods:Collecting 60 fecal samples from CRC with spleen-deficiency,20 fecal samples from IBS-D with spleen-deficiency,and 10 fecal samples from the control group.Then we extract DNA from the fecal,use MSP to detect the methylation of GATA4.Results:In 60 fecal samples of CRC with spleen deficiency patients,a total of 48 cases were positive for GATA4 methylation,with a positive rate of 80.0%.In 20 fecal samples of IBS-D patients with spleen deficiency patients,a total of 3 cases were positive for GATA4 methylation,with a positive rate of 15.0%.In 10 fecal samples of the control group,a total of 1 stool sample were positive for GATA4 methylation,with a positive rate of 10.0%.The positive rate of GATA4 methylation in fecal samples of CRC with spleen deficiency patients was significantly higher than that of IBS-D with spleen deficiency syndrome and control group.The GATA4 methylation status in fecal samples of CRC with spleen deficiency patients was significantly different from that of the control group(P<0.05).The GATA4 methylation status in fecal samples of IBS-D with spleen deficiency patients and controls was not statistically different from that of the control group(P>0.05).Conclusion:1.The methylation of GATA4 gene may be one of the molecular biological features of CRC with spleen deficiency syndrome.2.The level of GATA4 methylation in CRC with spleen deficiency syndrome may be higher than that in CRC with non-spleen deficiency syndrome.