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. 2007 Feb;39(2):157-8.
doi: 10.1038/ng1941. Epub 2006 Dec 31.

Epigenetic stem cell signature in cancer

Martin Widschwendter  1 , Heidi Fiegl, Daniel Egle, Elisabeth Mueller-Holzner, Gilbert Spizzo, Christian Marth, Daniel J Weisenberger, Mihaela Campan, Joanne Young, Ian Jacobs, Peter W Laird
Affiliations

Epigenetic stem cell signature in cancer

Martin Widschwendter et al. Nat Genet. 2007 Feb.

Abstract

Embryonic stem cells rely on Polycomb group proteins to reversibly repress genes required for differentiation. We report that stem cell Polycomb group targets are up to 12-fold more likely to have cancer-specific promoter DNA hypermethylation than non-targets, supporting a stem cell origin of cancer in which reversible gene repression is replaced by permanent silencing, locking the cell into a perpetual state of self-renewal and thereby predisposing to subsequent malignant transformation.

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