Epigenetics in oral cancer- neoteric biomarker
Journal Title: Journal of Oral Medicine, Oral Surgery, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology - Year 2016, Vol 2, Issue 2
Abstract
A cancer develops when a cell acquires specific growth advantages through the stepwise accumulation of heritable changes in gene function. Cancer genes may be changed by several mechanisms, which potentially alter the protein encoding nucleotide template, change the copy number of genes or leads to increased gene transcription. Epigenetic alterations are increasingly being recognized for their roles in carcinogenesis. Deregulation of gene expression is a hallmark of cancer. Although genetic lesions have been the focus of cancer research for many years, it has become increasingly recognized that aberrant epigenetic modifications also play major roles in the tumorigenic process. These modifications imposed on chromatin, do not change the nucleotide sequence of DNA, and are manifested by specific patterns of gene expression. The field of cancer epigenetics is evolving rapidly on several fronts. Advances in our understanding of chromatin structure, histone modification, and transcriptional activity and DNA methylation have resulted in an increasingly integrated view of epigenetics. Whilst genetic alterations in oral cancer have long been documented, the appreciation of epigenetic changes is more recent. Epigenetic changes alter expression of tumour suppressor genes without changes in DNA sequence. Epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation, histone methylation and deacetylation have been shown to silence key genes involved in cell proliferation, differentiation and genome integrity and clearly have a central role in oral cancer. Epigenetics is another major player in multistep carcinogenesis of oral cancers. In this article we discuss current literature in the field of the epigenetics of oral cancer, placing a great deal of emphasis on DNA methylation, histone modification and post-transcriptional gene down-regulation by microRNAs.
Authors and Affiliations
Sameera Shamim Khan, Mala Kamboj, Renuka Verma, Malay Kumar
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP241784
- DOI -
- Views 141
- Downloads 0
Bacteria in oral carcinogenesis
Cancer is a subject that has got enormous depth and we clinicians are still searching for the end point The multi centric etiopathogenesis of cancer makes it a field of enormous research Bacteria meanwhile have been seen...
Simple bone cyst- case report with 6 month follow up
The simple bone cyst (SBC) is an uncommon benign empty or fluid containing cavity within, bone that is not lined by epithelium.1 IN 1929, Lucas and Blum for the first time described traumatic bone cyst (TBC) as a separat...
Fusion of primary teeth- An odontogenic anomaly
The conjoining or twinning of teeth leads to odontogenic anomalies The dental fusion is observed by the union of two normally separated tooth germs It is defined as the union of two independently developing primary or pe...
Herpes zoster oticus, neural invasion of virus: a case report and review of literature
Herpes zoster (HZ) is an acute reactivation of dormant varicella zoster virus. The virus lies dormant in the sensory ganglia from a prior infection of chickenpox caused by the same virus.(1,2) It predominantly effects mi...
Epithelial myoepithelial carcinoma of parotid gland-a case report
Epithelial-Myoepithelial Carcinoma is a rare malignant salivary gland neoplasm. It is also known as adenomyoepithelioma. It accounts for less than 1% of all salivary gland neoplasms. This unusual salivary gland tumors is...