mRNA expression and methylation of the four genes in additional primary samples. A: mRNA expression levels. The mRNA expression levels of the 10 genes listed in Table 2 were quantitatively analyzed in 11 samples of gastric glands without IM (N), 14 samples with IM (IM), two samples of the normal small intestine (one primary sample and one cell line; S), and three samples of the normal colon (one primary sample and two cell lines; C). The expression levels of the four genes were markedly decreased in gastric gland samples with IM and were also very low in the normal small intestine and colon. There is a possibility that their silencing in gastric epithelial cells produced a cellular environment similar to that of the small intestine and colon. B: Methylation statuses of the four genes in 16 samples of gastric glands with IM and 14 samples without (11 paired glands; N), one sample of the normal small intestine (S), and one sample of the normal colon (C). All four genes were specifically methylated in the samples of gastric glands with IM although not methylated in the samples of gastric glands without the normal small intestine and the normal colon.