Department of Clinical Genetics, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Tehran P.O. Box 14965/161, Iran.
International Laboratory EPIGEN, Consejo de Ciencia y Tecnología del Estado de Puebla (CONCYTEP), Puebla 72160, Mexico.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Aug 23;23(17):9521. doi: 10.3390/ijms23179521.
Epigenetic modifications are known to regulate cell phenotype during cancer progression, including breast cancer. Unlike genetic alterations, changes in the epigenome are reversible, thus potentially reversed by epi-drugs. Breast cancer, the most common cause of cancer death worldwide in women, encompasses multiple histopathological and molecular subtypes. Several lines of evidence demonstrated distortion of the epigenetic landscape in breast cancer. Interestingly, mammary cells isolated from breast cancer patients and cultured ex vivo maintained the tumorigenic phenotype and exhibited aberrant epigenetic modifications. Recent studies indicated that the therapeutic efficiency for breast cancer regimens has increased over time, resulting in reduced mortality. Future medical treatment for breast cancer patients, however, will likely depend upon a better understanding of epigenetic modifications. The present review aims to outline different epigenetic mechanisms including DNA methylation, histone modifications, and ncRNAs with their impact on breast cancer, as well as to discuss studies highlighting the central role of epigenetic mechanisms in breast cancer pathogenesis. We propose new research areas that may facilitate locus-specific epigenome editing as breast cancer therapeutics.
表观遗传修饰被认为在癌症进展过程中调节细胞表型，包括乳腺癌。与遗传改变不同，表观基因组的变化是可逆的，因此可以通过表观遗传药物逆转。乳腺癌是全世界女性癌症死亡的最常见原因，包括多种组织病理学和分子亚型。有几条证据表明乳腺癌中存在表观遗传景观的扭曲。有趣的是，从乳腺癌患者中分离出来并在体外培养的乳腺细胞保持了致瘤表型，并表现出异常的表观遗传修饰。最近的研究表明，乳腺癌治疗方案的治疗效果随着时间的推移而提高，导致死亡率降低。然而，未来对乳腺癌患者的治疗可能取决于对表观遗传修饰的更好理解。本综述旨在概述包括 DNA 甲基化、组蛋白修饰和 ncRNAs 在内的不同表观遗传机制及其对乳腺癌的影响，并讨论强调表观遗传机制在乳腺癌发病机制中的核心作用的研究。我们提出了新的研究领域，这些领域可能有助于乳腺癌治疗的特定基因座特异性表观基因组编辑。
