Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2013:2013:317569.
doi: 10.1155/2013/317569. Epub 2013 Dec 23.

DNA methylation pattern as important epigenetic criterion in cancer

Mehrdad Ghavifekr Fakhr  1 , Majid Farshdousti Hagh  1 , Dariush Shanehbandi  1 , Behzad Baradaran  1
Affiliations
Review

DNA methylation pattern as important epigenetic criterion in cancer

Mehrdad Ghavifekr Fakhr et al. Genet Res Int. 2013.

Abstract

Epigenetic modifications can affect the long-term gene expression without any change in nucleotide sequence of the DNA. Epigenetic processes intervene in the cell differentiation, chromatin structure, and activity of genes since the embryonic period. However, disorders in genes' epigenetic pattern can affect the mechanisms such as cell division, apoptosis, and response to the environmental stimuli which may lead to the incidence of different diseases and cancers. Since epigenetic changes may return to their natural state, they could be used as important targets in the treatment of cancer and similar malignancies. The aim of this review is to assess the epigenetic changes in normal and cancerous cells, the causative factors, and epigenetic therapies and treatments.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Methylation of cytosine in carbon 5.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Epigenetic modifications of histone amino acids [77].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Crosstalk between genomic methylation, histone modifications, and the effects of microRNAs on gene expression.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Gal-Yam EN, Saito Y, Egger G, Jones PA. Cancer epigenetics: modifications, screening, and therapy. Annual Review of Medicine. 2008;59:267–280. - PubMed
    1. Gräff J, Mansuy IM. Epigenetic codes in cognition and behaviour. Behavioural Brain Research. 2008;192(1):70–87. - PubMed
    1. Dillon N. Gene regulation and large-scale chromatin organization in the nucleus. Chromosome Research. 2006;14(1):117–126. - PubMed
    1. Woodcock CL. Chromatin architecture. Current Opinion in Structural Biology. 2006;16(2):213–220. - PubMed
    1. de Groote ML, Verschure PJ, Rots MG. Epigenetic Editing: targeted rewriting of epigenetic marks to modulate expression of selected target genes. Nucleic Acids Research. 2012;40(21):10596–10613. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources