Cancer Epigenetics Open Access Journals
Epigenetic mechanisms are essential for normal development and maintenance of tissue-specific organic phenomenon patterns in mammals. Disruption of epigenetic processes can cause altered
gene function and malignant cellular transformation. Global changes within the epigenetic landscape are an indicator of cancer. The initiation and progression of cancer, traditionally seen as a genetic disorder, is now realized to involve epigenetic abnormalities alongside genetic alterations. In this review, we discuss the present understanding of alterations within the epigenetic landscape that occur in
cancer compared with normal cells, the roles of those changes in
cancer initiation and progression, including the
cancer somatic cell model, and therefore the potential use of this data in designing simpler treatment strategies.
Chromatin structure defines the state during which genetic
information within the sort of DNA is organized within a cell. This organization of the
genome into a particularly compact structure greatly influences the skills of genes to be activated or silenced. The current definition of epigenetics is ‘the study of heritable changes in organic
phenomena that occur independently of changes within the primary DNA sequence. This heritability of
gene expression patterns is mediated by epigenetic modifications, which include
methylation of cytosine bases in DNA, posttranslational modifications of histone proteins as well as the positioning of nucleosomes along with the DNA. Failure of the proper maintenance of heritable epigenetic marks can result in inappropriate activity.
High Impact List of Articles
Relevant Topics in Clinical