Epigenetics & Cancer & Gene Networks …Oh Me(thylation)!November 15, 2013Now that we’ve landed smack dab in the middle of the age of big data, some interesting techniques have emerged to interrogate the mind-boggling amounts of information from our (epi)genome. Dr. Ranjan Perera and team at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Florida) applied some of that new analysis wizardry to learn more about the complexity of […]
Is Cancer an Epigenomic Disease?October 7, 2013Discovering what ‘causes’ cancer has been a goal as elusive as hitting the Lottery by playing only the numbers in your birthdate. To complicate matters, most cases are unique events within themselves, adding a layer of heterogeneity that leads to even more hair-pulling frustration among researchers. However, cutting edge research has now revealed a possible […]
Priming Cancer Therapies with Epigenetics with Dr. Peter JonesSeptember 9, 2013Dr. Peter Jones of the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at USC discusses the positive impact epigenetic therapies are having in the clinic. Priming Cancer Therapies with Epigenetics with Dr. Peter Jones Well, I think the thing that excites me the most is the increasing successes of epigenetic therapies in the clinic. And so I […]
Epigenetics: Damage Control in the Cell with Dr. Jim HaberJuly 25, 2013Dr. Haber discusses how normal cells deal with DNA damage and genomic integrity; and how those systems go awry in cancer cells. Epigenetics: Damage Control in the Cell Well, I work in an area of DNA repair. And what we have come to realize over the last decade is how these repair mechanisms prevent cells […]
Disrupting DMNT1’s Cancerous InteractionsJuly 9, 2013It seems like almost every gene examined today has it roots in cancer, and epigenetic mechanisms haven’t missed the invite to that party. But with all these players comes an overwhelming heterogeneity that has troubled researchers looking for a cure ever since cancer was described as an epigenetic disease. Some research groups have tried out […]
The Darkside of Epigenetic PlasticityJune 26, 2013Sure, genes get mutated in cancers, but the epigenome gets messed-up too. In fact, two researchers argue in a recent review that a “dysregulated epigenome” that’s too plastic and flexible could itself lead to cancer. Andrew Feinberg and Winston Timp, both from the Center for Epigenetics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, wrote the […]
Non-Coding RNAs Step Out of LINE in CancerMay 29, 2013LINE-1 retrotransposons are a plentiful and cunning repetitive element of viral origin, which are typically kept silent via our hardworking epigenetic mechanism: DNA methylation. However, just like every good molecular pirate, cancer likes to use what it hijacks. Dr. Cristina Tufarelli’s group (University of Nottingham, UK) have previously shown that aberrant activation of LINE-1 promoters […]
5-hmC as a Cancer DiagnosticApril 24, 2013We’ve heard that DNA methylation can get messed up in cancer, but what about 5-hydroxymethylation (5-hmC)? In a recent report, researchers say that 5-hmC profiles could serve as epigenetic signatures of cancer. The U.K. and Swiss team wanted to know if they could zero in on a signature or biomarker for liver cancer—specifically for liver […]
DNA Methylation in Cancer Goes the Distance via EnhancersMarch 14, 2013We like having all the important things close by—a stash of chocolate, a latte, and the remote control. But sometimes important things are far away. Take enhancers, for example. Enhancers are often pretty far from the genes whose transcription they are “enhancing.” And now, it turns out that DNA methylation at these enhancers can affect […]
miRNAs that Bind Coding Sequences are Specialized for Inhibiting TranslationJanuary 28, 2013We all have our specialties—maybe yours is in histone modifications or maybe you can name every American Idol winner. In any case, miRNAs have some specialization too. Researchers now say that they’ve figured out what miRNAs that bind within the CDS, or coding sequence, of an mRNA do—they specialize in inhibiting translation. Most studies talk […]