The altered expression of chloride intracellular channel 4 (CLIC4) was reported to correlate with tumor progression. Previously, we have shown that the reduced cellular invasion induced by photodynamic therapy (PDT) is associated with suppression of CLIC4 expression in PDT-treated cells. Herein, we attempted to decipher the regulatory mechanisms involved in PDT-mediated CLIC4 suppression in A375 and MDA-MB-231 cells in vitro. We found that PDT can increase the expression and enzymatic activity of DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1). Bisulfite sequencing PCR further revealed that PDT can induce hypermethylation in the CLIC4 promoter region. Silencing DNMT1 rescues the PDT-induced CLIC4 suppression and inhibits hypermethylation in its promoter. Furthermore, we found tumor suppressor p53 involves in the increased DNMT1 expression of PDT-treated cells. Finally, by comparing CLIC4 expression in lung malignant cells and normal lung fibroblasts, the extent of methylation in CLIC4 promoter was found to be inversely proportional to its expression. Taken together, our results indicate that CLIC4 suppression induced by PDT is modulated by DNMT1-mediated hypermethylation and depends on the status of p53, which provides a possible mechanistic basis for regulating CLIC4 expression in tumorigenesis.
Keywords: CLIC4; DNA methylation; PDT; oxidative stress.