The Role of DNA Hypermethylation and Demethylation in Cancer and Cancer Therapy

Autor:	Moshe Szyf
Rok vydání:	2008
Předmět:	Regulation of gene expression Genetics Epigenetics of physical exercise DNA methylation EZH2 Epigenetics Cancer epigenetics Biology Updates and Developments in Oncology RNA-Directed DNA Methylation Epigenomics
Zdroj:	Current Oncology Volume 15 Issue 2 Pages 210-75
ISSN:	1718-7729
DOI:	10.3747/co.v15i2.210
Popis:	Methylation of DNA is known to be an important mechanism of gene regulation. A hallmark of cancer is the deregulation of the DNA methylation machinery and aberrant DNA methylation patterns 1. In vertebrate genomes, a large fraction of the CG dinucleotide sequence is modified by methylation in gene- and tissuespecific patterns 2. Methylation of critical regulatory regions silences gene expression; loss of methylation is associated with gene activation 3. Because cancer progression requires many changes in the normal program of gene expression, it stands to reason that aberrations in DNA methylation play a critical role in the changes in gene expression involved in cancer progression and metastasis. Methylation changes in DNA play a role very similar to that of genetic mutations in cancer; however, unlike a genetic alteration, DNA methylation is potentially reversible with pharmacologic intervention. The DNA methylation machinery was therefore proposed—almost a decade and a half ago—to be an attractive anticancer target 4.
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
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