Paes Ticiana, Hofland Leo J, Iyer Anand M, Feelders Richard A
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Erasmus Medical Center, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Dr. Molewaterplein 40, Rotterdam, GD 3015, The Netherlands.
Department of Internal Medicine, Roger Williams Medical Center, Providence, RI, USA.
Pituitary. 2025 Apr 21;28(3):51. doi: 10.1007/s11102-025-01522-3.
Non-mutational epigenetic reprogramming is considered an important enabling characteristic of neoplasia. Corticotroph tumors and other subtypes of pituitary tumors are characterized by distinct epigenetic profiles. The DNA methylation profile is consistent with disease-specific gene expression, which highlights the importance of epigenetic changes in tumor formation and progression. Elucidating the epigenetic changes underlying tumorigenesis plays an important role in understanding the molecular pathogenesis of corticotroph tumors and may ultimately contribute to improving tumor-specific treatment. Here, we provide an overview of the epigenetic landscape of corticotroph tumors. We also review the role of epigenetics in silencing the expression of tumor suppressor genes and promoting oncogenes expression, which could potentially be involved in the pathogenesis of corticotroph tumors. We briefly discuss microRNAs and epigenetic aspects of POMC regulation. Lastly, since the epigenetic changes are reversible, we discuss drugs that target epigenetic modifiers that could potentially be used in the arsenal of Cushing's disease treatment modalities.
非突变性表观遗传重编程被认为是肿瘤形成的一个重要促成特征。促肾上腺皮质激素细胞瘤和垂体瘤的其他亚型具有独特的表观遗传特征。DNA甲基化谱与疾病特异性基因表达一致，这突出了表观遗传变化在肿瘤形成和进展中的重要性。阐明肿瘤发生背后的表观遗传变化在理解促肾上腺皮质激素细胞瘤的分子发病机制中起着重要作用，并最终可能有助于改善肿瘤特异性治疗。在这里，我们概述了促肾上腺皮质激素细胞瘤的表观遗传格局。我们还综述了表观遗传学在沉默肿瘤抑制基因表达和促进癌基因表达中的作用，这可能与促肾上腺皮质激素细胞瘤的发病机制有关。我们简要讨论了微小RNA和阿黑皮素原（POMC）调节的表观遗传学方面。最后，由于表观遗传变化是可逆的，我们讨论了靶向表观遗传修饰剂的药物，这些药物可能会被用于库欣病的治疗手段中。
