Altered expression of epigenetic modifiers EZH2, H3K27me3, and DNA methyltransferases in meningiomas – prognostic biomarkers for routine practice

Introduction
Meningiomas comprises of a wide variety of histological entities with heterogeneous biological behaviour and prognosis. The plethora of genetic data are yet to produce relevant biomarkers for routine use. In contrast, epigenetic alterations are less elucidated.

Material and methods
The expression of the key molecules involved in the two principal epigenetic systems, i.e. DNA methylation (DNA methyltransferases [DNMT-1, -3A and -3B]) and histone modification (Enhancer of Zeste homolog-2 [EZH2] and trimethyl histone-3 [H3K27me3]) were assessed in 149 cases of meningiomas (grade I – 102, grade II – 47) by immunohistochemistry.

Results
Immunopositivity for EZH2 (38.3% vs. 6.0%) and negativity for H3K27me3 (10.6% vs. 1.0%) were significantly more common in grade II tumours. Both were associated with significantly higher proliferative activity. The majority of the cases of both grades showed expression of all three DNMTs. However, high expression of DNMT-1 was significantly more common in grade II tumours (87.8% vs. 66.2%). Expression of EZH2 and loss of H3K27me3 were associated with significantly shorter progression-free survival (hazard ratio [HR] = 4.07 and 0.24, respectively).

Conclusions
The key epigenetic regulators play important roles in the pathobiology of meningiomas. EZH2 positivity and H3K27me3 negativity are associated with aggressive tumour-biology and poor prognosis. Both these markers can easily be assessed by immunohistochemistry and can be incorporated in routine practice.