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At least 631 records · Page 35Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

APC promoter hypermethylation contributes to the loss of APC expression in colorectal cancers with allelic loss on 5q.

INTRODUCTION: Germ-line mutations of the APC gene are associated with familial adenomatous polyposis, and somatic mutations occur frequently in sporadic colorectal cancer. However, to abrogate APC function, both alleles must be inactivated. Recently, it has been demonstrated that epigenetic modification of the APC promoter influences APC silencing. Here we examined the influence of APC methylation on APC expression in tumors with and without LOH at the APC locus. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 137 sporadic colorectal cancer specimens were investigated for LOH at the 5q locus. The methylation status of the APC promoter was determined by methylation-specific PCR. APC expression was performed by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Expression was reduced or lost in 110 of 137 (80%) tumors and LOH at 5q was found in 13 of 132 (10%) tumors. There was no difference in 5q LOH between tumors with or without intact APC expression. Vice versa, there was no difference in the APC expression in tumors with 5q LOH. Aberrant APC promoter methylation was detected in 33 of 118 (28%) tumors investigated. Of the tumors with 5q LOH for which methylation data were available, 4 of 11 (36%) were methylated versus 28 of 105 (27%) of those without LOH. No difference in methylation was observed in tumors without 5q LOH and normal APC expression and those without 5q LOH and reduced or missing APC expression. Importantly, none of the tumors with 5q LOH and normal APC staining were aberrantly methylated, whereas 50% of the cancers with LOH at 5q and reduced or absent staining were hypermethylated. CONCLUSIONS: This report suggests that tumors with 5q LOH and reduced APC expression are more frequently hypermethylated at the APC promoter compared to those tumors with 5q LOH and normal APC expression. The association among APC promoter methylation status, 5q LOH, and reduced or lost APC expression suggests that de novo methylation plays an important role as a "second hit" in silencing APC expression in colorectal neoplasia.

Adenomatous Polyposis Coli Protein↗
PubMed2004

Regulation of RARbeta1 expression in head and neck cancer cells by cell density-dependent chromatin remodeling.

Retinoids have shown significant activities in cancer prevention and therapy. Many of their effects are mediated by nuclear retinoid receptors including retinoic acid receptors (RARs alpha, beta and gamma) and retinoid X receptors (RXRs alpha, beta and gamma). Human retinoic acid receptor beta (RARbeta) has three different isoforms: beta1, beta2 and beta4. The tumor suppressive characteristics of RARbeta2, its silencing by promoter hypermethylation, and its reexpression following demethylation have been reported. In contrast, RARbeta1, an embryonic isoform with restricted expression in adult tissues has been linked to carcinogenesis. However, factors regulating RARbeta1 expression have not yet been clarified. During studies on the head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells, we found that the expression of RARbeta increased in cells grown to high density. Real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction revealed that the isoform increased in these cells was RARbeta1. Epigenetic modifications of this isoform were tested using combined bisulfite restriction analysis and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. The UMSCC38 cell line showed significant RARbeta1 expression (p < 0.001), which was dependent on cell density and culture duration. The increased expression of RARbeta1 was not due to demethylation of its promoter. However, higher cell densities were associated with increased acetylation of histone 3 at lysine 9 in RARbeta1 but not in RARbeta2. These findings reveal that the expression of RARbeta1 is regulated by cell density through changes in histone acetylation.

Acetylation↗
PubMed2005

siRNA induced transcriptional gene silencing in mammalian cells.

Epigenetics is the study of meiotically and mitotically heritable changes in gene expression which are not coded for in the DNA. Three distinct mechanisms appear to be intricately related and implicated in initiating and/or sustaining epigenetic modifications; DNA methylation, RNA-associated silencing, and histone modifications. It has recently become clear in human cells that RNA plays a far more profound and complex role in regulating the expression of the gene. This regulatory effect is through RNA-associated silencing, can be transcriptional in nature, and is operable through an RNA interference based mechanism (RNAi) that is specifically mediated by small-interfering RNAs (siRNAs). Specifically, the recent observations by both our groups that siRNAs can silence target genes at the level of the chromatin in mammalian cells. We discuss here siRNA mediated transcriptional gene silencing and directed DNA methylation as well as the putative mechanism involved in human cells. Undoubtedly, the ramifications from this paradigm shift of RNA regulating the expression of the gene are immeasurable both therapeutically (i.e., directed control of a genes expression) and biologically in understanding the evolution of the cell.

Animals↗
PubMed2026

Chronic postsurgical pain in children: Current evidence and clinical perspectives.

The chronification of acute pain following surgery is increasingly recognized, with a reported prevalence of 10%-63%, likely reflecting the increasing number of surgical interventions performed in the pediatric population. This pain is more severe after high-risk surgeries, such as spine surgery, hernia repair, and thoracotomy. Currently, the literature reports highly variable definitions of chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP) owing to a lack of objective diagnostic parameters. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines CPSP as "chronic pain that develops or increases in intensity after surgery or a tissue injury and persists beyond three months, without other causes". This pain can be localized to the surgical field or referred to the affected nerve domain. Similarly, the reported incidence of CPSP in children is largely from low-quality studies and varies between 20% and 50% in the studied population. Its neuropathic features are strongly associated with psychological consequences, functional limitations, and adverse long-term health outcomes. Potential risk factors in the pediatric population include psychosocial behaviors, pre-existing pain, postsurgical pain intensity, and the type of surgery performed. Proposed pathophysiological mechanisms include a pro-inflammatory state after surgery, leading to altered peripheral and central sensitization, genomic factors, epigenetic modifications, and altered brain physiology associated with chronic pain. Understanding the pathophysiology helps target interventions for pre-existing pain, surgery-related pain, anxiety, and opioid-induced hyperalgesia. Preoperative protocolized analgesic strategies, cognitive behavioral therapy, and acupuncture have been tried with varied success rates, although concrete data are lacking. The literature on regional analgesia is still limited in the pediatric population and represents a potential area for further research. Furthermore, rehabilitation interventions addressing postoperative trajectories with early referral to transitional pain clinics may offer promising avenues for improving outcomes. There is a significant knowledge gap, a scarcity of available data on CPSP, and difficulties in addressing pain in the pediatric population, underscoring the need for this review.

Children↗
PubMed2000

H19 and Igf2 monoallelic expression is regulated in two distinct ways by a shared cis acting regulatory region upstream of H19.

H19 and Igf2 are expressed in a monoallelic fashion from the maternal and paternal chromosomes, respectively. A region upstream of H19 has been shown to regulate such imprinted expression of both genes in cis. We have taken advantage of a loxP/cre recombinase-based strategy to delete this region in mice in a conditional manner to determine the temporal requirement of the upstream region in initiating and maintaining the imprinted expression of H19 and Igf2. Analysis of allele-specific expression of H19 and Igf2 and DNA methylation at the H19 promoter demonstrates that this region controls the monoallelic expression of the two genes in different ways, suggesting that it harbors two functionally distinct regulatory elements. Continued presence of the region is required to silence maternal Igf2 in accordance with its proposed role as an insulator. However, it does not have a direct role in keeping the paternal H19 promoter silenced. Instead, on the paternal chromosome, the upstream element mediates epigenetic modifications of the H19 promoter region during development, leading to transcriptional silencing of H19. Thereafter, its presence is redundant for preventing transcription. Presently, this temporal requirement of the silencing element appears to be a unique cis activity in the mammalian system. However, it is likely that other cis-acting elements, positive and negative, have the ability to effect stable changes in the chromatin structure and are not constantly required to give signals to the transcriptional machinery.

Alleles↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Hypomethylation of cytosine 5-methyltransferase in human neoplasms.

Cytosine methylation is an epigenetic modification of DNA involved in control of gene expression. Neoplastic cells exhibit various alterations both in DNA methylation and activity of the enzyme responsible for this modification, 5-methyltransferase (5-MeTase). As there is little requirement for 5-methyltransferase expression in normal cells except during mitosis, we argued that the gene would be hypermethylated in normal cells. Southern analysis revealed almost complete methylation of the gene in genomic DNA from the peripheral blood leukocytes of healthy subjects and a primary fibroblast derived cell line. In contrast, in DNA from a range of tumour tissues and tumour derived cell lines, 5-MeTase exhibited marked hypomethylation. The results of this study indicate that dysregulation of the DNA methylating machinery, especially with respect to the methylation status of 5-MeTase, is a feature of a wide range of neoplasms.

Blotting, Southern↗
PubMed2001

Of microbes, mice and man.

This chapter reviews my 18 years of research in Anne's Unit including studies on temporal and spatial aspects of X-chromosome inactivation and imprinting and the role of methylation in X-inactivation in these processes during female mouse embryo development. To enable molecular studies of embryos, we developed a plethora of single cell assays for specific enzyme activity, gene mutation and methylation, and RNA transcription. While in Anne's Unit, I used these same single cell assays to pioneer the procedures for preimplantation diagnosis of genetic disease, now an established clinical approach to prevention of the birth of children with severe genetic disease. At the Institute of Child Health in London, we continue to develop new highly sensitive molecular procedures--currently for the creation of cDNA libraries from human preimplantation embryos, primordial germ cells and embryonal stem cells. We are using these cDNA preparations to isolate human developmental genes and embryo/cancer genes. One of the more fascinating aspects arising from my time in Anne's Unit is the way in which my research findings challenged a number of accepted dogmas in development concerned with the origin and totipotency of the germ line and the possibility of transgenerational genetic inheritance by epigenetic modification of the germ line.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

[Residual variation of morphochronometric traits in hybrid tomatoes: analysis and possible mechanism of emergence].

Different expressivity of several morphometric and chronometric traits in tomato plants having similar genetic composition in the identical environmental conditions manifested as genotypic residual variation. Using correlation and artificial neural network analyses, we determined the relationship between productivity and other morphochronometric parameters. It was shown that chronology of the development may be important for the determination of productivity. Random epigenetic modifications independent of environmental factors are considered to underlie the residual variation. The different trait expression in different plants may lead to higher phenotypic diversity of a population characterized by low gene polymorphism.

Chimera↗
PubMed2002

I105V polymorphism and promoter methylation of the GSTP1 gene in prostate adenocarcinoma.

The GSTP1 gene encodes for an enzyme, glutathione S-transferase pi (GSTpi),involved in detoxification of carcinogens. An aminoacid substitution (I105V) in GSTP1 produces a variant enzyme with lower activity and less capability of effective detoxification. This variant GSTP*B allele has been associated with a propensity to develop several neoplasms. Because GSTP1 promoter hypermethylation and inactivation of GSTpi expression is a frequent alteration in prostate carcinoma, we hypothesized that this somatic epigenetic modification could obviate any reduced enzyme activity caused by the germ-line polymorphism. We tested for the GSTP1 genotype in a population of prostate cancer patients, and in a control group composed of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and healthy blood donors. Tissue samples from the 105 prostate cancer cases (105 adenocarcinomas and 34 prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia lesions), and from 43 BPH patients were tested for GSTP1 hypermethylation by methylation-specific PCR. GSTpi protein expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry. No significant effect on prostate cancer risk was detectable for GSTP1 genotype compared with the control population (odds ratio, 1.02; 95% confidence interval, 0.59-1.75). Moreover, no association was found between this genotype and tumor or BPH methylation status. Patients with unmethylated carcinomas did not disclose significant differences in genotypic distribution compared with the control population. In adenocarcinoma, a strong association (P < 0.00001) between GSTP1 promoter hypermethylation and loss of GSTpi expression was observed; however, this trend was not retained in prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia or BPH lesions. Although the GSTP1 polymorphism is not associated with altered susceptibility to prostate cancer, somatic promoter hypermethylation is an effective, but not the only, cause of decreased GSTpi function.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2002

Susceptibility to gastric cardia adenocarcinoma and genetic polymorphisms in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase in an at-risk Chinese population.

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) plays a centralrole in converting folate to methyl donor for DNA methylation, an epigenetic modification known to be dysregulated in carcinogenesis. Our previous study revealed that MTHFR polymorphisms contribute to a great risk of esophageal cancer in a Chinese population. This case-control study was to examine the association between MTHFR polymorphisms and gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (GCA), which is also prevalent in high-risk areas of esophageal cancer and thus may share common etiological factors with esophageal cancer in this population. The study subjects were 217 patients with GCA and 468 population controls matched on sex and age. The MTHFR C677T and A1298C genotypes were detected by a PCR-based RFLP assay. It was found that subjects with the MTHFR 677TT variant genotype had a 2-fold increased risk of GCA (odds ratio, 2.04; 95% confidence interval, 1.28-3.26). Moreover, a significantly elevated risk was also seen among the MTHFR 677CT heterozygotes (odds ratio, 1.56; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-2.36). The MTHFR A1298C polymorphism had no effect on risk of GCA. These findings are generally consistent with our initial observation for esophageal cancer and suggest that the MTHFR genotype may be a determinant of GCA among this at-risk Chinese population.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2002

Histone H3-lysine 9 methylation is associated with aberrant gene silencing in cancer cells and is rapidly reversed by 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine.

Epigenetic modifications of cytosine residues in DNA and the amino termini of histone proteins have emerged as key mechanisms in chromatin remodeling, impacting both the transcriptional regulation and the establishment of chromosomal domains. Using the chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay, we demonstrate that aberrantly silenced genes in cancer cells exhibit a heterochromatic structure that is characterized by histone H3 lysine 9 (H3-K9) hypermethylation and histone H3 lysine 4 (H3-K4) hypomethylation. This aberrant heterochromatin is incompatible with transcriptional initiation but does not inhibit elongation by RNA polymerase II. H3-K9 methylation may, therefore, play a role in the silencing of tumor-suppressor genes in cancer. Treatment with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-Aza-CdR), previously known for its ability to inhibit cytosine methylation, induced a rapid and substantial remodeling of the heterochromatic domains of the p14ARF/p16INK4a locus in T24 bladder cancer cells, reducing levels of dimethylated H3-K9 and increasing levels of dimethylated H3-K4 at this locus. In addition, 5-Aza-CdR increased acetylation and H3-K4 methylation at the unmethylated p14 promoter, suggesting it can induce chromatin remodeling independently of its effects on cytosine methylation.

Acetylation↗
PubMed2002

DNA methylation and demethylating drugs in myelodysplastic syndromes and secondary leukemias.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Methylation of DNA is a common epigenetic modification that plays an important role in the control of gene expression in mammalian cells. This process involves CpG dinucleotide sequences and is catalyzed by DNA-methyltransferase enzymes. Under physiological conditions, methylated CpG sites are only present in DNA sequences typical of bulk chromatin, where the DNA is inaccessible to transcription factors. In contrast, CpG islands of promoter regions are usually unmethylated (with few exceptions such as the genes on the inactive X-chromosome). DNA methylation abnormalities have recently emerged as the most frequent molecular changes in hematopoietic neoplasms. INFORMATION SOURCES: The authors of the present review are currently working in the field of myelodysplastic syndromes and secondary leukemias and have contributed original papers to peer-reviewed journals. The material analyzed in the present review includes articles and reviews published in journals covered by the Science Citation Index, and abstracts presented at recent international oncology and hematology meetings. STATE OF THE ART: Methylation and transcriptional status are inversely correlated, the hypermethylation of genes involved in cell-cycle control and apoptosis could have a pathogenetic role in the development of cancer. In particular, high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and secondary leukemias (SL) show a high prevalence of tumor-suppressor gene hypermethylation. The use of irreversible DNA methyltransferase inhibitors, such as 5-azacytidine and decitabine, appears to be a promising therapeutic option for the treatment of MDS and SL. Large clinical trials are still ongoing, but preliminary data recently published indicate for the first time that the natural history of MDS may be changed by a non-intensive treatment. CONCLUSIONS AND PERSPECTIVES: Treatment with demethylating agents, 5-azacytidine and decitabine, at present results in significantly higher response rates, improved quality of life, reduced risk of leukemic transformation, and improved survival, when compared to supportive care. Azacytidine and decitabine provide a new treatment option, and should be the treatment choice for elderly patients with high risk MDS. It is whorty in fact that azacytidine and decitabine are especially active in patients with poor prognosis MDS. The combination with histone deacetylase inhibitors may increase the efficacy of hypomethylating agents in vivo.

Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic↗
PubMed2003

[Nuclear transfer and reprogramming mechanism].

It is confident that mammalian somatic cell and embryonic stem cell can form whole individuals if they are transferred to enucleated oocytes at M phase. However, a large proportion of clones were stillborn or died within several months due to various reasons. Morphological abnormalities have also been observed in clones. The exact reasons for such abnormalities are not clear, but genetic or epigenetic modification in donor cells and insufficient reprogramming of nuclei due to improper nuclear transfer technique are considered. In this review, we discuss the present status of animal cloning and reprogramming mechanism of nuclei.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Epigenetic regulation of proprotein convertase PACE4 gene expression in human ovarian cancer cells.

Proprotein convertases (PC) are a family of serine endoproteases that play important roles in regulating cell function by converting proproteins to biologically active molecules. Several lines of evidence suggest that overexpression of PCs contributes to tumor formation and progression in various types of cancer. In this study, we examined PC expression in six normal ovarian surface epithelium (OSE) cultures, nine primary ovarian cancer (OC) cultures, and three established OC cell lines (Hey, HeyC2, and OCC-1). Our results show that furin and PC7 expression in OC cells was comparable to that in normal OSE. However, PACE4 expression was greatly reduced in all OC samples studied. PACE4 promoter activity was measured in HeyC2 and OCC-1 cells using transiently transfected luciferase reporter plasmids. Both cell lines supported PACE4 promoter activity, showing that the transcription factors critical for PACE4 expression are present in OC cells. The observation that established OC cell lines have reduced PACE4 expression, but maintained the ability to support PACE4 promoter activity, led to the hypothesis that reduced expression may be due to epigenetic modification of the PACE4 gene, such as DNA methylation and histone deacetylation. Methylation analysis of 79 CpG dinucleotides within the PACE4 promoter and exon I (-196/+340) revealed that the percentage of methylated cytosine nucleotides was 8-9% in normal OSE, but 58-93% in OC cells. Treatment with the demethylating agent 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine and/or the histone deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A greatly increased PACE4 expression in OC cells. These data suggest that the reduction of PACE4 expression in OC cells is caused, in part, by DNA hypermethylation and histone deacetylation.

DNA Methylation↗
PubMed2003

Aberrant methylation and silencing of ARHI, an imprinted tumor suppressor gene in which the function is lost in breast cancers.

ARHI is a maternally imprinted tumor suppressor gene that maps to a site on chromosome 1p31 where loss of heterozygosity has been observed in 40% of human breast and ovarian cancers. ARHI is expressed in normal ovarian and breast epithelial cells, but ARHI expression is lost in a majority of ovarian and breast cancers. Expression of ARHI from the paternal allele can be down-regulated by multiple mechanisms in addition to loss of heterozygosity. This article explores the role of DNA methylation in silencing ARHI expression. There are three CpG islands in the ARHI gene. CpG islands I and II are located in the promoter region, whereas CpG island III is located in the coding region. Consistent with imprinting, we have found that all three CpG islands were partially methylated in normal human breast epithelial cells. Additional confirmation of imprinting has been obtained by studying DNA methylation and ARHI expression in murine A9 cells that carry either the maternal or the paternal copy of human chromosome 1. All three CpG islands were methylated, and ARHI was not expressed in A9 cells that contained the maternal allele. Conversely, CpG islands were not methylated and ARHI was expressed in A9 cells that contained the paternal allele of human chromosome 1. Aberrant methylation was found in several breast cancer cell lines that exhibited decreased ARHI expression. Hypermethylation was detected in 67% (6 of 9) of breast cancer cell lines at CpG island I, 33% (3 of 9) at CpG island II, and 56% (5 of 9) at CpG island III. Hypomethylation was observed in 44% (4 of 9) of breast cancer cell lines at CpG island II. When methylation of CpG islands was studied in 20 surgical specimens, hypermethylation was not observed in CpG island I, but 3 of 20 cases exhibited hypermethylation in CpG island II (15%), and 4 of 20 cases had hypermethylation in CpG island III (20%). Treatment with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine, a methyltransferase inhibitor, could reverse aberrant hypermethylation of CpG island I, II and III and partially restore ARHI expression in some, but not all of the cell lines. Treatment with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine partially reactivated ARHI expression in cell lines with hypermethylation of CpG islands I and II but not in cell lines with partial methylation or hypomethylation of these CpG islands. To test the impact of CpG island methylation on ARHI promoter activity more directly, constructs were prepared with the ARHI promoter linked to a luciferase reporter and transfected into SKBr3 and human embryo kidney 293 cells. Methylation of the entire construct destroyed promoter activity. Selective methylation of CpG island II alone or in combination with CpG island I also abolished ARHI promoter activity. Methylation of CpG I alone partially inhibited promoter activity of ARHI. Thus, hypermethylation of CpG island II in the promoter region of ARHI is associated with the complete loss of ARHI expression in breast cancer cells. Other epigenetic modifications such as hypermethylation in CpG island III may also contribute to the loss of ARHI expression.

Alleles↗
PubMed2003

Differential distribution of DNA methylation within the RASSF1A CpG island in breast cancer.

Aberrant DNA methylation of promoter CpG islands is associated with transcriptionally repressive heterochromatin in neoplasia. The dynamics of this epigenetic process in mediating the transition from an active to an inactive state of transcription remains to be elucidated, however. Here, we used the methylation-specific oligonucleotide microarray to map the methylation patterns of a CpG island, located within the promoter and the first exon regions of RASSF1A, in normal breast tissue controls, primary tumors, and breast cancer cell lines. Oligonucleotide pairs, spaced along the CpG island region, were designed to discriminate between methylated and unmethylated alleles of selected sites. The methylation-specific oligonucleotide data indicate that the majority of test samples show widespread methylation in the first exon of RASSF1A. In contrast, the promoter area was usually undermethylated in normal controls and in 32% of the primary tumors tested, whereas the rest of the primary tumors and breast cancer cell lines showed various degrees of methylation in the region. Methylation profiling of individual tumors further suggest that DNA methylation progressively spreads from the first exon into the promoter area of this gene. Functional analysis indicates that increased density of RASSF1A promoter methylation is associated with altered chromatin, marked by a depletion of acetylated histones and methylated histone 3-lysine 4 and an enrichment of methylated histone 3-lysine 9 in the studied area. The combination of these epigenetic modifications may engender a stable silencing of the gene in breast cancer cells. Thus, this study underscores the importance of detailed mapping of methylation patterns within a CpG island locus that may provide insights into the progressive nature of aberrant DNA methylation and its relationship with transcriptional silencing during the neoplastic process.

Acetylation↗
PubMed2003

Expression of FRA16D/WWOX and FRA3B/FHIT genes in hematopoietic malignancies.

The WW domain containing oxidoreductase (WWOX) gene was recently identified as a candidate tumor suppressor gene at a common fragile site, FRA16D. Because the fragile histidine triad (FHIT) gene, a tumor suppressor gene encompassing the most active, common fragile site FRA3B, is frequently deleted in various cancers, we evaluated the expression of WWOX and FHIT in 74 cases of primary hematopoietic neoplasias and 20 leukemia cell lines. Aberration or absence of WWOX transcripts was detected in 51% of the primary cases and 55% of cell lines, and three WWOX nucleotide variants were detected among the leukemia cell lines. FHIT expression was absent or altered in 36% of the primary cases and 15% of cell lines. The occurrence of aberrant FHIT reverse transcription-PCR products correlated significantly with the occurrence of WWOX alterations. Wild-type transcripts of both genes were expressed in normal hematopoiesis along with a small fraction of short transcripts. A DNA blot study showed that WWOX and FHIT genes were deleted in 2 of 18 cases with primary acute leukemias; both genes were not expressed in the 2 cases. Furthermore, treatment of cells with a demethylating or histone acetylating agent in culture resulted in increased expression of WWOX and FHIT mRNA in leukemia cells. Conclusions are that WWOX expression is frequently altered or absent in hematopoietic disorders, often in association with FHIT alterations, and that alterations of these fragile genes may result not only from genomic deletions but also from epigenetic modifications associated with expression of fragility.

Acetylation↗
PubMed2005

Small but mighty RNA-mediated interference in plants.

RNA silencing is a conserved phenomenon of regulation of gene expression by small RNAs derived from cleavage of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). The present review deals with three overlapping modes of small RNA-mediated silencing particularly in plants. In case of post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS), Dicer, an endonuclease, cleaves dsRNA to produce approximately 21nt-long small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), which guide RISC, another nuclease complex, to destroy specific target mRNAs based on sequence complementarity with the siRNA. Another class of siRNAs of 25nt-long is also produced from dsRNA by Dicer, different from that generates 21nt-long siRNA. These longer siRNAs are probably involved in systemic silencing during PTGS and guide methylation of both DNA and histone, and induce heterochromatinization and consequent transcriptional repression of the targeted gene. Both siRNA-mediated PTGS and epigenetic modification of the genome are considered as defense mechanisms to protect against invading viruses, transposons or aberrantly expressing transgenes. Regulation of expression of endogenous genes is mediated by another class of 21nt-long small RNAs called microRNAs (miRNA). Genes encoding the miRNAs are present either in the intergenic regions, introns or coding regions of the plant genome. Cleavage of a stem-loop precursor transcript called pre-miRNA, by another class of Dicer generates miRNAs, which in association with nuclease complex similar to RISC, if not identical, either degrade target mRNA or cause translational repression. The applications of RNA silencing in functional genomics and crop improvement are discussed.

Gene Expression Regulation, Plant↗