• Title/Summary/Keyword: Epigenetic

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Inhibition of DNA Methylation Is Involved in Transdifferentiation of Myoblasts into Smooth Muscle Cells

  • Lee, Won Jun;Kim, Hye Jin
    • Molecules and Cells
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    • v.24 no.3
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    • pp.441-444
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    • 2007
  • Despite the importance of cell fate decisions regulated by epigenetic programming, no experimental model has been available to study transdifferentiation from myoblasts to smooth muscle cells. In the present study, we show that myoblast cells can be induced to transdifferentiate into smooth muscle cells by modulating their epigenetic programming. The DNA methylation inhibitor, zubularine, induced the morphological transformation of C2C12 myoblasts into smooth muscle cells accompanied by de novo synthesis of smooth muscle markers such as smooth muscle ${\alpha}$-actin and transgelin. Furthermore, an increase of p21 and decrease of cyclinD1 mRNA were observed following zebularine treatment, pointing to inhibition of cell cycle progression. This system may provide a useful model for studying the early stages of smooth muscle cell differentiation.

Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumour : From Tumours to Therapies

  • Richardson, Elizabeth Anne;Ho, Ben;Huang, Annie
    • Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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    • v.61 no.3
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    • pp.302-311
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    • 2018
  • Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumours (ATRTs) are the most common malignant central nervous system tumours in children ${\leq}1year$ of age and represent approximately 1-2% of all pediatric brain tumours. ATRT is a primarily monogenic disease characterized by the bi-allelic loss of the SMARCB1 gene, which encodes the hSNF5 subunit of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex. Though conventional dose chemotherapy is not effective in most ATRT patients, high dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplant, radiotherapy and/or intrathecal chemotherapy all show significant potential to improve patient survival. Recent epigenetic and transcriptional studies highlight three subgroups of ATRT, each with distinct clinical and molecular characteristics with corresponding therapeutic sensitivities, including epigenetic targeting, and inhibition of tyrosine kinases or growth/lineage specific pathways.

Nickel Toxicity and Carcinogenicity (니켈의 독성과 발암성)

  • Park Hyoung-Sook;Park Kwangsik
    • Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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    • v.19 no.2
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    • pp.119-134
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    • 2004
  • Human exposure to highly nickel-polluted environments, such as those associated with nickel refining, electroplating, and welding, has the potential to produce a variety of pathologic effects. Among them are skin allergies, lung fibrosis, and cancer of the respiratory tract. The exact mechanisms of nickel-induced carcinogenesis are not known and have been the subject of numerous epidemiologic and experimental investigations. This review provides the evidence of the current state for the genotoxic and mutagenic activity of Ni (II) particularly at high doses. Such doses are best delivered into the cells by phagocytosis of sparingly soluble nickel-containing dust particles. Ni (II) genotoxicity may be aggravated through the generation of DNA-damaging reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the inhibition of DNA repair by this metal. The epigenetic effects of nickel includes alteration in gene expression resulting from DNA hypermethylation and histone hypoacetylation, as well as activation some signaling pathways and subsequent transcrziption factors.

DNA Methylation in Development (배아 발생에서의 DNA 메칠화)

  • Choe, Jin
    • Journal of Genetic Medicine
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    • v.5 no.2
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    • pp.100-104
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    • 2008
  • DNA methylation is one of many epigenetic mechanisms that regulate gene expression in the human body. From the view of epigenetics, there are two phases of development, one for germ cell development and another for embryo development. This review will discuss the basic mechanism of methylation, its role in gene expression, and the role of methylation in embryonic reprogramming. Methylation of genes is very critical to embryo development and should be explored further in order to increase our understanding of development.

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Histone tail cleavage as a novel epigenetic regulatory mechanism for gene expression

  • Yi, Sun-Ju;Kim, Kyunghwan
    • BMB Reports
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    • v.51 no.5
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    • pp.211-218
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    • 2018
  • Chromatin is an intelligent building block that can express either external or internal needs through structural changes. To date, three methods to change chromatin structure and regulate gene expression have been well-documented: histone modification, histone exchange, and ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling. Recently, a growing body of literature has suggested that histone tail cleavage is related to various cellular processes including stem cell differentiation, osteoclast differentiation, granulocyte differentiation, mammary gland differentiation, viral infection, aging, and yeast sporulation. Although the underlying mechanisms suggesting how histone cleavage affects gene expression in view of chromatin structure are only beginning to be understood, it is clear that this process is a novel transcriptional epigenetic mechanism involving chromatin dynamics. In this review, we describe the functional properties of the known histone tail cleavage with its proteolytic enzymes, discuss how histone cleavage impacts gene expression, and present future directions for this area of study.

Advances towards Controlling Meiotic Recombination for Plant Breeding

  • Choi, Kyuha
    • Molecules and Cells
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    • v.40 no.11
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    • pp.814-822
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    • 2017
  • Meiotic homologous recombination generates new combinations of preexisting genetic variation and is a crucial process in plant breeding. Within the last decade, our understanding of plant meiotic recombination and genome diversity has advanced considerably. Innovation in DNA sequencing technology has led to the exploration of high-resolution genetic and epigenetic information in plant genomes, which has helped to accelerate plant breeding practices via high-throughput genotyping, and linkage and association mapping. In addition, great advances toward understanding the genetic and epigenetic control mechanisms of meiotic recombination have enabled the expansion of breeding programs and the unlocking of genetic diversity that can be used for crop improvement. This review highlights the recent literature on plant meiotic recombination and discusses the translation of this knowledge to the manipulation of meiotic recombination frequency and location with regards to crop plant breeding.

Necessity of Epigenetic Epidemiology Studies on the Carcinogenesis of Lung Cancer in Never Smokers

  • Bae, Jong-Myon
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.51 no.5
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    • pp.263-264
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    • 2018
  • Based on epidemiological and genomic characteristics, lung cancer in never smokers (LCNS) is a different disease from lung cancer in smokers. Based on current research, the main risk factor for LCNS may be air pollution. A recent case-control study in Koreans reported that nitrogen dioxide ($NO_2$) may be a risk factor for LCNS. Additionally, a cohort study showed that exposure to $NO_2$ was associated with significant hypomethylation. Thus, epigenetic epidemiology studies are needed in the near future to evaluate the carcinogenesis of LCNS according to chronic exposure to air pollution and/or viral infections.

Cancer and Epigenetics

  • Bae, Jae-Bum;Kim, Young-Joon
    • Animal cells and systems
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    • v.12 no.3
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    • pp.117-125
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    • 2008
  • One of the interesting trends in genome research is the study about epigenetic modification above single gene level. Epigenetics refers study about heritable change in the genome, which accompany modification in DNA or Chromatin besides DNA sequence alteration. We used to have the idea that the coding potential of the genome lies within the arrangement of the four bases A, T, G, C; However, additional information that affects phenotype is stored in the distribution of the modified base 5-methylcytosine. This form of information storage is flexible enough to be adapted for different somatic cell types, yet is stable enough to be retained during mitosis and/or meiosis. Epigenetic modification is a modification of the genome, as opposed to being part of the genome, so is known as "epigenetics"(Greek for "upon" genetics). This modification could be methylation on Cytosine base or post translational modification on histone protein(methylation, acetylation, phosphorylation, Sumoylation)($Dimitrijevi\hat{E}$ et al 2005). In this review, we would like to focus on the relationship of DNA methylation and cancer.