Abstract This study aimed to explore: 1) DNA methylation in the promoter regions of Wilms tumor gene 1 (WT1), NK6 transcription factor related locus 1 gene (NKX6-1) and Deleted in bladder cancer 1 (DBC1) gene in cervical cancer tissues of Uygur women in Xinjiang, and 2) the correlation of gene methylation with the infection of HPV16/18 viruses. We detected HPV16/18 infection in 43 normal cervical tissues, 30 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia lesions (CIN) and 48 cervical cancer tissues with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. Methylation in the promoter regions of the WT1, NKX6-1 and DBC1 genes in the above-mentioned tissues was measured by methylation-specific PCR (MSP) and cloning sequencing. The expression level of these three genes was measured by real-time PCR (qPCR) in 10 methylation-positive cervical cancer tissues and 10 methylation-negative normal cervical tissues. We found that the infection of HPV16 in normal cervical tissues, CIN and cervical cancer tissues was 14.0, 36.7 and 66.7%, respectively. The infection of HPV18 was 0, 6.7 and 10.4%, respectively. The methylation rates of WT1, NKX6-1 and DBC1 genes were 7.0, 11.6 and 23.3% in normal cervical tissues, 36.7, 46.7 and 30.0% in CIN tissues, and 89.6, 77.1 and 85.4% in cervical cancer tissues. Furthermore, WT1, NKX6-1 and DBC1 genes were hypermethylated in the high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (CIN2, CIN3) and in the cervical cancer tissues with infection of HPV16/18 (both P< 0.05). The expression of WT1, NKX6-1 and DBC1 was significantly lower in the methylation-positive cervical cancer tissues than in methylation-negative normal cervical tissues. Our findings indicated that methylation in the promoter regions of WT1, NKX6-1 and DBC1 is correlated with cervical cancer tumorigenesis in Uygur women. The infection of HPV16/18 might be correlated with methylation in these genes. Gene inactivation caused by methylation might be related to the incidence and development of cervical cancer.

This meta-analysis was designed to elucidate whether preoperative signal intensity changes could predict the surgical outcomes of patients with cervical spondylosis myelopathy on the basis of T1-weighted and T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging images. We searched the Medline database and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for this purpose and 10 studies meeting our inclusion criteria were identified. In total, 650 cervical spondylosis myelopathy patients with (+) or without (-) intramedullary signal changes on their T2-weighted images were examined. Weighted mean differences and 95g% confidence intervals were used to summarize the data. Patients with focal and faint border changes in the intramedullary signal on T2 magnetic resonance imaging had similar Japanese Orthopaedic Association recovery ratios as those with no signal changes on the magnetic resonance imaging images of the spinal cord did. The surgical outcomes were poorer in the patients with both T2 intramedullary signal changes, especially when the signal changes were multisegmental and had a well-defined border and T1 intramedullary signal changes compared with those without intramedullary signal changes. Preoperative magnetic resonance imaging including T1 and T2 imaging can thus be used to predict postoperative recovery in cervical spondylosis myelopathy patients.