Department of Biomedical Sciences, Unit of Biology and Genetics, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2022 Aug 29;12:984134. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.984134. eCollection 2022.
DNA methylation is an epigenetic signature consisting of a methyl group at the 5' cytosine of CpG dinucleotides. Modifications in DNA methylation pattern have been detected in cancer and infectious diseases and may be associated with gene expression changes. In cancer development DNA methylation aberrations are early events whereas in infectious diseases these epigenetic changes may be due to host/pathogen interaction. In particular, in leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease caused by the protozoan , DNA methylation alterations have been detected in macrophages upon infection with and in skin lesions from patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis. Interestingly, different types of cancers, such as cutaneous malignant lesions, lymphoma and hepatocellular carcinoma, have been diagnosed in patients with a history of leishmaniasis. In fact, it is known that there exists an association between cancer and infectious diseases. infection may increase susceptibility to develop cancer, but the mechanisms involved are not entirely clear. Considering these aspects, in this review we discuss the hypothesis that DNA methylation alterations induced by may trigger tumorigenesis in long term infection since these epigenetic modifications may enhance and accumulate during chronic leishmaniasis.
DNA 甲基化是一种表观遗传特征，由 CpG 二核苷酸 5'胞嘧啶上的甲基基团组成。在癌症和传染病中已经检测到 DNA 甲基化模式的改变，并且可能与基因表达变化有关。在癌症发展过程中，DNA 甲基化异常是早期事件，而在传染病中，这些表观遗传变化可能是由于宿主/病原体相互作用所致。特别是在利什曼病中，一种由原生动物引起的寄生虫病，在感染 后巨噬细胞中已经检测到 DNA 甲基化改变，并且在皮肤利什曼病患者的皮肤损伤中也已经检测到。有趣的是，在有过利什曼病病史的患者中已经诊断出不同类型的癌症，如皮肤恶性病变、淋巴瘤和肝细胞癌。事实上，已经知道癌症和传染病之间存在关联。 感染可能会增加患癌症的易感性，但涉及的机制尚不完全清楚。考虑到这些方面，在这篇综述中，我们讨论了这样一种假设，即 诱导的 DNA 甲基化改变可能会在长期感染中引发肿瘤发生，因为这些表观遗传修饰可能会在慢性利什曼病中增强和积累。
