癌表观遗传调控与癌症治疗

Epigenetics and Cancer:Target Epigenetic Alterations in Tumor

基因功能与表达模式异常是癌症的主要特征.日益增多的研究表明,DNA甲基化(DNAmethylation)、组蛋白修饰(histone modification)、染色质重塑(chromatin remodeling)以及microRNAs介导的基因沉默等表观遗传调控方式的异常与癌症的发生发展密切相关.阐明癌症发生发展过程中的表观遗传学调控改变并籍此设计、开发治疗癌症的有效药物已受到高度重视.本文综述了癌症表观调控研究领域的相关进展,并着重讨论了应用表观遗传调控的方法治疗癌症的现状和前景.

Cancer is a heterogeneous disease which arises primarily from the accumulation of mutations in the cells＇ DNA.However,recent work has implicated epigenetic changes in the etiology and progression of cancer.For example,abnormal patterns of histone methylation have been identified in breast cancer,raising the possibility that altered patterns of epigenomics can be exploited both as a biomarker to monitor disease status and as a novel therapeutic target.Here,we discuss current knowledge on epigenetic rgulation in cancer progression and treatment,with emphasis on the perspective on drug and target discovery of DNA methylation and histone modification.