Tianjin Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Tianjin Medical University, 22 Qixiangtai Road, Tianjin 300070, China.
Exp Cell Res. 2013 Jan 15;319(2):160-9. doi: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2012.07.019. Epub 2012 Aug 1.
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is vital for morphogenesis during embryonic development and is also critical for the conversion of early stage tumors into invasive malignancies. Several key inducers of EMT are transcription factors that repress the expression of E-cadherin, whose loss is a hallmark of EMT. Epigenetic regulation encompasses three types of changes: DNA methylation, histone modifications, and microRNAs, each of which has been shown to play a key role in controlling epithelial-mesenchymal transition and cancer metastasis. As we gain deeper understanding of epigenetic mechanisms controlling EMT processes and orchestrating all the metastatic steps, we broaden the therapeutic potentials of epigenetic drugs, such as DNA demethylating drugs and histone deacetylase/demethylase inhibitors, which can act upon metastasis-related genes, restoring their expression and biological functions.
上皮-间充质转化 (EMT) 对于胚胎发育过程中的形态发生至关重要，对于早期肿瘤向侵袭性恶性肿瘤的转化也至关重要。几个 EMT 的关键诱导因子是转录因子，它们抑制 E-钙黏蛋白的表达，而 E-钙黏蛋白的丢失是 EMT 的标志。表观遗传调控包括三种类型的变化：DNA 甲基化、组蛋白修饰和 microRNAs，它们都被证明在控制上皮-间充质转化和癌症转移中发挥关键作用。随着我们对控制 EMT 过程和协调所有转移步骤的表观遗传机制的深入了解，我们扩大了表观遗传药物的治疗潜力，如 DNA 去甲基化药物和组蛋白去乙酰化酶/去甲基化酶抑制剂，这些药物可以作用于与转移相关的基因，恢复其表达和生物学功能。
