scholarly journals The Role of Epigenetic Alterations in Papillary Thyroid Carcinogenesis

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ogechukwu P. Eze ◽  
Lee F. Starker ◽  
Tobias Carling
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Cytosine Methylation ◽  
Cpg Islands ◽  
Tumor Development ◽  
Genetic Alterations ◽  
Papillary Thyroid ◽  
Promoter Regions ◽  
Novel Technologies ◽  
Approaches To Study ◽  
Thyroid Malignancies

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) accounts for over 80% of all thyroid malignancies. The molecular pathogenesis remains incompletely clarified although activation of the RET fusion oncogenes, and RAS and BRAF oncogenes, has been well characterized. Novel technologies using genome-wide approaches to study tumor genomes and epigenomes have provided great insights into tumor development. Growing evidence shows that acquired epigenetic abnormalities participate with genetic alterations to cause altered patterns of gene expression/function. It has been established beyond doubt that promoter cytosine methylation in CpG islands, and the subsequent gene silencing, is intimately involved in cancer development. These epigenetic events very likely contribute to significant variation in gene expression profiling, phenotypic features, and biologic characteristics seen in PTC. Hypermethylation of promoter regions has also been analyzed in PTC, and most studies have focused on individual genes or a small cohort of genes implicated in tumorigenesis.

scholarly journals Epigenetic Effects of Benzene in Hematologic Neoplasms: The Altered Gene Expression

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 2392
Author(s):  
Giovanna Spatari ◽  
Alessandro Allegra ◽  
Mariella Carrieri ◽  
Giovanni Pioggia ◽  
Sebastiano Gangemi
Keyword(s):  
Tumor Suppressor ◽  
Cpg Islands ◽  
Hematologic Malignancies ◽  
Genetic Alterations ◽  
Dna Hypomethylation ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Promoter Regions ◽  
Hematological Neoplasms ◽  
Altered Gene ◽  
Hematological Tumors

Benzene carcinogenic ability has been reported, and chronic exposure to benzene can be one of the risk elements for solid cancers and hematological neoplasms. Benzene is acknowledged as a myelotoxin, and it is able to augment the risk for the onset of acute myeloid leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes, aplastic anemia, and lymphomas. Possible mechanisms of benzene initiation of hematological tumors have been identified, as a genotoxic effect, an action on oxidative stress and inflammation and the provocation of immunosuppression. However, it is becoming evident that genetic alterations and the other causes are insufficient to fully justify several phenomena that influence the onset of hematologic malignancies. Acquired epigenetic alterations may participate with benzene leukemogenesis, as benzene may affect nuclear receptors, and provoke post-translational alterations at the protein level, thereby touching the function of regulatory proteins, comprising oncoproteins and tumor suppressor proteins. DNA hypomethylation correlates with stimulation of oncogenes, while the hypermethylation of CpG islands in promoter regions of specific tumor suppressor genes inhibits their transcription and stimulates the onset of tumors. The discovery of the systems of epigenetic induction of benzene-caused hematological tumors has allowed the possibility to operate with pharmacological interventions able of stopping or overturning the negative effects of benzene.

scholarly journals Investigating the Role of Methylation in Silencing of VDR Gene Expression in Normal Cells during Hematopoiesis and in Their Leukemic Counterparts

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1991
Author(s):  
Urszula Nowak ◽  
Sylwia Janik ◽  
Aleksandra Marchwicka ◽  
Agnieszka Łaszkiewicz ◽  
Agnieszka Jakuszak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Blood Cells ◽  
Transcriptional Activity ◽  
Cpg Islands ◽  
Human Umbilical Cord Blood ◽  
Human Umbilical Cord ◽  
Promoter Regions ◽  
Vdr Gene ◽  
Hematopoietic Stem ◽  
Major Mechanism

(1) Background: Vitamin D receptor (VDR) is present in multiple types of blood cells, and its ligand, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25D), is important for the proper functioning of the immune system. Activity of VDR is higher in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells than in fully differentiated blood cells of mice and humans. In some human acute myeloid leukemia (AML) blasts, the expression of the VDR gene is also high. The mechanism of silencing the VDR gene expression during differentiation of blood cells has been addressed in this work. (2) Methods: The cells have been obtained using fluorescence activated sorting from murine tissues and from human umbilical cord blood (UCB). Then, the expression of the VDR gene and transcriptional activity of the VDR protein has been tested in real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Eventually, the methylation of VDR promoter regions was tested using bisulfite sequencing. (3) Results: The CpG islands in VDR promoters were not methylated in the cells studied both in mice and in humans. The use of hypomethylating agents had no effect toward expression of human VDR transcripts, but it increased expression of the VDR-target gene, CYP24A1. (4) Conclusions: The expression of the VDR gene and transcriptional activity of the VDR protein varies at successive stages of hematopoietic differentiation in humans and mice, and in blasts from AML patients. The experiments presented in this case indicate that methylation of the promoter region of the VDR gene is not the major mechanism responsible for these differences.

CpG islands in genes showing tissue-specific expression

1990 ◽  
Vol 326 (1235) ◽  
pp. 207-215 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Cpg Islands ◽  
Housekeeping Genes ◽  
Tissue Expression ◽  
Proximal Promoter ◽  
Cell Type ◽  
Promoter Regions ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Tissue Specific ◽  
Single Cell Type

Patterns of DNA methylation at GpG dinucleotides and their relations with gene expression are complex. Methylation-free CpG clusters, so-called HTF islands, are most often associated with the promoter regions of housekeeping genes, whereas genes expressed in a single-cell type are usually deficient in these sequences. However, in the human carbonic anhydrase (CA) gene family, both the ubiquitously expressed CAII and the muscle specific CAIII appear to have such CpG islands although erythrocyte-specific CAI does not. The CAII island is quantitatively more CpG rich than that of CAIII, with a CpG :GpC ratio of 0.94 compared with 0.82 for CAIII. Estimation of CpG:GpC ratios in the proximal-promoter regions of 44 vertebrate genes suggest that 40% of genes with tissue-specific or limited tissue distribution may show methylation-free CpG clusters in their promoter regions. In many cases the CpG:GpC ratio is less than that found in housekeeping genes and this may reflect variation in the interaction of CpG clusters with regulatory factors that define different patterns of tissue expression.

scholarly journals Assessing Gene Expression and Methylation of KMT2D and IGF2 Genes in Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 55
Author(s):  
Arash Matin Ahmadi ◽  
Hessamodin Ghasemi ◽  
Sajad Nooshin ◽  
Zoofa Zayani ◽  
Shohreh Zare Karizi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Lung Cancer ◽  
Methylation Level ◽  
Cpg Islands ◽  
Regulation Of Gene Expression ◽  
Tumor Development ◽  
Gene Promoter ◽  
Cancer Tissue ◽  
Lung Carcinogenesis ◽  
Igf2 Gene

Background: Aberrant promoter methylation of CpG islands is an important mechanism for regulation of gene expression. Recent data suggest that epigenetic abnormalities may occur very early in lung carcinogenesis. Systemic methylation changes may be a diagnostic marker for tumor development or prognosis. In this study, the expression and methylation of KMT2D and IGF2 genes were investigated in the lung cancer tissue compared to the adjacent normal tissue.Methods: The status of methylation of KMT2D and IGF2 genes were investigated in 30 patients with NSCLC after genomic DNA extraction using bisulfite treatment and MS-HRM method and the expression of these genes were checked by Real-Time PCR method in same samples.Results: For KMT2D gene, the expression and methylation level increased in 46.6% and 6.67% (respectively) for tumor samples comparison with normal samples (P>0.05). Also, for IGF2 gene 50% tumor samples overexpressed and 50% tumor samples showed that reduced expression comparison with the normal samples (P>0.05). In addition, 96.66% of tumor tissues did not show any change in methylation level for IGF2 gene promoter (P>0.05).Conclusion: This study showed that expression and methylation level of KMT2D and IGF2 genes did not change in NSCLC tumor samples compared to normal samples. However, this study was designed as a pilot study, and further investigations are required to confirm our findings.

scholarly journals Small-Activating RNA Can Change Nucleosome Positioning in Human Fibroblasts

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 634-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Wang ◽  
Jing Sun ◽  
Jiandong Shi ◽  
Qing Guo ◽  
Xiangrong Tong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Gene Expression Regulation ◽  
Human Fibroblasts ◽  
Cpg Islands ◽  
Nucleosome Positioning ◽  
Gene Promoters ◽  
Promoter Regions ◽  
Rna Activation ◽  
Gene Expression Studies

RNA activation (RNAa) is a mechanism of positive gene expression regulation mediated by small-activating RNAs (saRNAs), which target gene promoters and have been used as tools to manipulate gene expression. Studies have shown that RNAa is associated with epigenetic modifications at promoter regions; however, it is unclear whether these modifications are the cause or a consequence of RNAa. In this study, we examined changes in nucleosome repositioning and the involvement of RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) in this process. We screened saRNAs for OCT4 ( POU5F1), SOX2, and NANOG, and identified several novel saRNAs. We found that nucleosome positioning was altered after saRNA treatment and that the formation of nucleosome-depleted regions (NDRs) contributed to RNAa at sites of RNAPII binding, such as the TATA box, CpG islands (CGIs), proximal enhancers, and proximal promoters. Moreover, RNAPII appeared to be bound specifically to NDRs. These results suggested that changes in nucleosome positions resulted from RNAa. We thus propose a hypothesis that targeting promoter regions using exogenous saRNAs can induce the formation of NDRs, exposing regulatory binding sites to recruit RNAPII, a key component of preinitiation complex, and leading to increased initiation of transcription.

Genome Wide Study of DNA Methylation In AML

Blood ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 116 (21) ◽  
pp. 3618-3618
Author(s):  
Marwa Saied ◽  
Sabah Khaled ◽  
Thomas Down ◽  
Jacek Marzec ◽  
Paul Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Cpg Island ◽  
Cpg Islands ◽  
Differential Methylation ◽  
Methylation Analysis ◽  
Promoter Regions ◽  
Gene Body Methylation ◽  
Normal Bone ◽  
Genome Wide

Abstract Abstract 3618 DNA methylation is the most stable epigenetic modification and has a major role in cancer initiation and progression. The two main aims for this research were, firstly, to use the genome wide analysis of DNA methylation to better understand the development of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The second aim was to detect differentially methylated genes/regions between certain subtypes of AML and normal bone marrow (NBM). We used the methylated DNA immunoprecipitation technique followed by high-throughput sequencing by Illumina Genome Analyser II (MeDIP -seq) for 9 AML samples for which ethical approval has been obtained. The selected leukemias included three with the t(8; 21), three with the t(15; 17) translocations and three with normal karyotypes (NK). The control samples were 3 normal bone marrows (NBMs) from healthy donors. The number of reads generated from Illumina ranged between 18– 20 million paired-end reads/lane with a good base quality from both ends (base quality > 30 represented 75%-85% of reads). The reads were aligned using 2 algorithms (Maq and Bowtie) and the methylation analysis was performed by Batman software (Bayesian Tool for Methylation Analysis). The creation of this genome-wide methylation map for AML permits the examination of the patterns for key genetic elements. Investigation of the 35,072 promoter regions identified 80 genes, which showed a significant differential methylation levels in leukemic cases in comparison to NBM; consistently high methylation levels in leukaemia were detected in the promoters of 70 genes e.g. DPP6, ID4, DCC, whereas high methylation levels in NBM, lost in leukaemia was observed in 10 genes e.g. ATF4. For each AML subtype, we also identified significant differentially methylated promoter regions e.g. PAX1 for t(8; 21), GRM7 for t(15; 17), NPM2 for NK. An analysis of gene body methylation identified 49 genes with significantly higher methylation in AML in comparison to NBM e.g. MYOD1 and 31 genes with a higher methylation in NBMs than AML e.g. GNG8. A similar analysis of 23,600 CpG islands identified 400 CpG islands with significant differential methylation levels between leukaemia and NBMs (212 CpG islands were found to have significantly increased methylation in leukaemia and 188 CpG islands had significantly higher methylation in NBMs). The pattern of methylation in CpG island “shores” (2 KB from either side of each CpG island) has been investigated and 312 CpG island shores showed a higher methylation in leukaemia and 88 CpG shores had a significant increase methylation levels in NBMs. This genome wide methylation map has been validated by using direct bisulfite sequencing of the regions identified above (Spearman r= 0.8, P <0.0001) and also by using Illumina Infinium assay (Spearman r= 0.7 P <0.0001) which interrogates regions at single representative CpGs. Comparison of previous array based gene expression data with this methylation map revealed a significant negative correlation between promoter methylation and gene expression (Pearson r= -0.9, P< 0.0001) while, gene body methylation showed a small negative correlation with gene expression, that was found in genes of CpG density >3% (Pearson r= -0.3, P< 0.0001). Conclusion: we have established a high-resolution (100bp) map of DNA methylation in AML and thus identified a novel list of genes, which have significantly differential methylation levels in AML. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

scholarly journals Fungal Infection Induces Anthocyanin Biosynthesis and Changes in DNA Methylation Configuration of Blood Orange [Citrus sinensis L. (Osbeck)]

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 244
Author(s):  
Angelo Sicilia ◽  
Vittoria Catara ◽  
Emanuele Scialò ◽  
Angela Roberta Lo Piero
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Fungal Infection ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Biotic Stress ◽  
Cytosine Methylation ◽  
Sweet Orange ◽  
Anthocyanin Biosynthesis ◽  
Promoter Regions ◽  
Anthocyanin Production

The biosynthesis of sweet orange anthocyanins is triggered by several environmental factors such as low temperature. Much less is known about the effect of biotic stress on anthocyanin production in sweet orange, although in other species anthocyanins are often indicated as “defense molecules”. In this work, citrus fruits were inoculated with Penicillium digitatum, the causal agent of green mold, and the amount of anthocyanins and the expression of genes related to their biosynthesis was monitored by RT-real time PCR after 3 and 5 days from inoculation (DPI). Moreover, the status of cytosine methylation of DFR and RUBY promoter regions was investigated by McrBC digestion followed in real-time. Our results highlight that fungal infection induces anthocyanin production by activating the expression of several genes in the biosynthetic pathway. The induction of gene expression is accompanied by maintenance of high levels of methylation at the DFR and RUBY promoters in the inoculated fruits, thus suggesting that DNA methylation is not a repressive mark of anthocyanin related gene expression in sweet orange subjected to biotic stress. Finally, by measuring the expression levels of the Citrus DNA demethylase genes, we found that none of them is up-regulated in response to fungal infection, this result being in accordance with the observed maintenance of high-level DFR and Ruby promoter regions methylation.

scholarly journals Decoupling of DNA Methylation Status and Gene Expression Levels in Aging Individuals

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 100040 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Wierczeiko ◽  
David Fournier ◽  
Hristo Todorov ◽  
Susanne Klingenberg ◽  
Kristina Endres ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Methylation Status ◽  
Cpg Islands ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Epigenetic Factors ◽  
Promoter Regions ◽  
Methylation Patterns ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Gene Expression Levels

Aging is a multi-factorial process, where epigenetic factors play one of the major roles in declines of gene expression and organic function. DNA methylation at CpG islands of promoters can directly change the expression of the neighbouring gene mostly through inhibition. Furthermore, it is known that DNA methylation patterns change during aging In our study, we investigated gene regulation through DNA methylation of genes up- and downregulated in long-lived people compared to a younger cohort. Our data revealed that comparatively highly methylated genes were associated with high expression in long-lived people (e.g. over 85). Genes with lower levels of methylation were associated with low expression. These findings might contradict the general model used to associate methylation status with expression. Indeed, we found that methylation in the promoter regions of all investigated genes is rather constant across different age groups, meaning that the disparity between methylation and expression only happens in older people. A potential explanation could be the impact of other epigenetic mechanisms, possibly related to stress.

DNA methylation events in transcription factors and gene expression changes in colon cancer

Epigenomics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 1593-1610
Author(s):  
Anna Díez-Villanueva ◽  
Rebeca Sanz-Pamplona ◽  
Robert Carreras-Torres ◽  
Ferran Moratalla-Navarro ◽  
M Henar Alonso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Colon Cancer ◽  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Cpg Islands ◽  
Promoter Regions ◽  
Differential Gene

Aim: Gain insight about the role of DNA methylation in the malignant growth of colon cancer. Patients & methods: Methylation and gene expression from 90 adjacent-tumor paired tissues and 48 healthy tissues were analyzed. Tumor genes whose change in expression was explained by changes in methylation were identified using linear models adjusted for tumor stromal content. Results: No differences in methylation were found between adjacent and healthy tissues, but clear differences were found between adjacent and tumor samples. We identified hypermethylated CpG islands located in promoter regions that drive differential gene expression of transcription factors and their target genes. Conclusion: Changes in methylation of a few genes provoke important changes in gene expression, by expanding the signal through transcription activation/repression.

scholarly journals Sugarcane mosaic virus mediated changes in cytosine methylation pattern and differentially transcribed fragments in resistance-contrasting sugarcane genotypes

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. e0241493
Author(s):  
Marcel Fernando da Silva ◽  
Marcos Cesar Gonçalves ◽  
Michael dos Santos Brito ◽  
Cibele Nataliane Medeiros ◽  
Ricardo Harakava ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Mosaic Virus ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Cytosine Methylation ◽  
Cpg Islands ◽  
Genetic Resistance ◽  
Methylation Pattern ◽  
Resistant Cultivar ◽  
Sugarcane Mosaic Virus ◽  
Epigenetic Changes

Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) is the causal agent of sugarcane mosaic disease (SMD) in Brazil; it is mainly controlled by using resistant cultivars. Studies on the changes in sugarcane transcriptome provided the first insights about the molecular basis underlying the genetic resistance to SMD; nonetheless, epigenetic modifications such as cytosine methylation is also informative, considering its roles in gene expression regulation. In our previous study, differentially transcribed fragments (DTFs) were obtained using cDNA-amplified fragment length polymorphism by comparing mock- and SCMV-inoculated plants from two sugarcane cultivars with contrasting responses to SMD. In this study, the identification of unexplored DTFs was continued while the same leaf samples were used to evaluate SCMV-mediated changes in the cytosine methylation pattern by using methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism. This analysis revealed minor changes in cytosine methylation in response to SCMV infection, but distinct changes between the cultivars with contrasting responses to SMD, with higher hypomethylation events 24 and 72 h post-inoculation in the resistant cultivar. The differentially methylated fragments (DMFs) aligned with transcripts, putative promoters, and genomic regions, with a preponderant distribution within CpG islands. The transcripts found were associated with plant immunity and other stress responses, epigenetic changes, and transposable elements. The DTFs aligned with transcripts assigned to stress responses, epigenetic changes, photosynthesis, lipid transport, and oxidoreductases, in which the transcriptional start site is located in proximity with CpG islands and tandem repeats. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction results revealed significant upregulation in the resistant cultivar of aspartyl protease and VQ protein, respectively, selected from DMF and DTF alignments, suggesting their roles in genetic resistance to SMD and supporting the influence of cytosine methylation in gene expression. Thus, we identified new candidate genes for further validation and showed that the changes in cytosine methylation may regulate important mechanisms underlying the genetic resistance to SMD.

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