Ito Kenji, Yamada Yasuhiro
Center for iPS Cell Research & Application, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan.
Epigenomics. 2017 Jul;9(7):997-1011. doi: 10.2217/epi-2017-0018. Epub 2017 Jun 27.
Decades of studies have shown that epigenetic alterations play a significant role on cancer development both in vitro and in vivo. However, considering that many cancers harbor mutations at epigenetic modifier genes and that transcription factor-mediated gene regulations are tightly coupled with epigenetic modifications, the majority of epigenetic alterations in cancers could be the consequence of the dysfunction or dysregulation of epigenetic modifiers caused by genetic abnormalities. Therefore, it remains unclear whether bona fide epigenetic abnormalities have causal roles on cancer development. Reprogramming technologies enable us to actively alter epigenetic regulations while preserving genomic information. Taking advantage, recent studies have provided in vivo evidence for the significant impact of epigenetic abnormalities on the initiation, maintenance and progression of cancer cells.
数十年的研究表明，表观遗传改变在体外和体内的癌症发展中都起着重要作用。然而，鉴于许多癌症在表观遗传修饰基因处存在突变，并且转录因子介导的基因调控与表观遗传修饰紧密相关，癌症中的大多数表观遗传改变可能是由基因异常导致的表观遗传修饰因子功能障碍或失调的结果。因此，真正的表观遗传异常是否对癌症发展具有因果作用仍不清楚。重编程技术使我们能够在保留基因组信息的同时积极改变表观遗传调控。利用这一优势，最近的研究提供了体内证据，证明表观遗传异常对癌细胞的起始、维持和进展具有重大影响。
