表观遗传学与子宫内膜癌的研究进展

长期以来人们一直认为基因突变或缺失参与肿瘤的形成,近年来越来越多证据表明,表观遗传修饰在肿瘤进展中同样具有非常重要的作用。DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰及micro RNA表达调控等表观遗传机制是子宫内膜癌发生、发展的重要原因之一。表观遗传学的研究进展不仅有助于子宫内膜癌的早期诊断,对分子靶向治疗子宫内膜癌亦显示出良好的应用前景。     

表观遗传学研究进展

表观遗传学是在基因组DNA序列不发生变化的条件下,基因表达发生的改变也是可以遗传的,导致可遗传的表现型变化。表观遗传学主要包括DNA甲基化作用、组蛋白修饰作用、染色质重塑、遗传印记、随机染色体(X)失活及RNA世界等。与表观遗传学相关的疾病主要有肿瘤、心血管病、精神病和自身免疫系统性病等。现就表观遗传学与疾病进行综述。     

杂种优势形成的表观遗传学研究进展

杂种优势是一种复杂的生物学现象,在农业生产上得到了广泛的应用,但对其形成的遗传机理和分子基础尚不清楚。随着表观遗传学的深入研究,尤其是DNA甲基化、小分子RNA和组蛋白修饰等技术的发展,为杂种优势形成的分子基础提供了新的研究策略和技术手段。DNA甲基化、小分子RNA、组蛋白三者在杂交种中水平的改变与杂种优势有着一定关系,同时,三者之间相互作用调节基因表达影响杂种优势。本文简述了近年来表观遗传学在杂种优势形成中的作用和遗传机制等方面的研究进展,并且提出了目前存在的问题和下一步的研究方向。本综述将有助于从表观遗传学的角度认识杂种优势的形成机理,从而促进对杂种优势的表观遗传学基础的理解及其在植物杂交育种上的应用研究。     

表观遗传学与人类疾病的研究进展

在过去的几年里,人们对表观遗传疾病的机理有了新的认识,这些疾病与染色质重塑、基因组印记、X染色体失活以及非编码RNA调控这4个表观遗传过程相关。这4个过程通过调节染色质结构,在染色体或基因簇水平上对基因表达进行调控;异常调控导致复杂的突变且表现为出生前后生长发育和神经功能的异常。对这些疾病的探讨为表观遗传机制的研究提供了很好的模型,进而有助于生物医学的研究。文章就表观遗传学和表观遗传疾病机制的研究进展做一综述。     

鼻咽癌的表观遗传学研究进展

表观遗传学是功能基因组学的重要组成部分,它实际上是研究理化、生物等环境因素以及饮食习惯等对遗传因素的作用,并由这一作用引起DNA序列以外的遗传物质改变.鼻咽癌是我国南方常见恶性肿瘤,具有明显的家族聚集倾向,存在基因组不稳定性,易受理化、生物等环境因素的影响,是多基因遗传性肿瘤.鼻咽癌这种独特病因体系提示:鼻咽癌是研究肿瘤表观遗传修饰的最佳模型之一.主要从DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰、染色质重构和非编码RNA的调控4方面对鼻咽癌表观遗传学研究进展进行综述并针对性地提出了一些新的建议,目的是为进一步探究鼻咽癌表观遗传学发病机制,更好地全面理解鼻咽癌的病因发病机制网络体系,寻找鼻咽癌高危易感人群的筛查、早期诊断、治疗、预后判断的表观遗传修饰分子标志物开辟新的前景.     

表观遗传学及其与疾病相关性

表观遗传学(Epigenetics)是指基因的DNA序列不发生改变的情况下,基因的表达水平与功能发生改变,并产生可遗传表型的遗传现象。主要内容包括DNA甲基化,组蛋白共价修饰,染色质重塑,非编码RNA 4个调控机制。这些表观遗传学变化与多种疾病的发生发展有关,该文就表观遗传学及其与疾病相关性作一综述。     

表观遗传修饰与肿瘤

肿瘤的形成受遗传学修饰和表观遗传修饰的影响。长期以来人们一直认为基因突变参与肿瘤的形成,近年来越来越多的证据表明,表观遗传修饰在肿瘤进展中同样具有非常重要的作用。表观遗传调控可以影响基因转录活性而不涉及DNA序列的改变。本文介绍了肿瘤发生发展过程中出现的表观遗传修饰异常,以及通过干预表观遗传修饰治疗肿瘤的应用前景。     

什么是“表观遗传学”

从经典遗传学理论上来讲,脱氧核糖核酸(DNA)是把生物的遗传信息传递给下一代的物质。上一代的生活经历一般不会影响下一代,因为DNA的序列不可能在如此短暂的时间内产生足以影响下一代性状的改变。然而对人和动物的观察表明,上一代的生活经历可以通过DNA序列以外的途径传给后代。这些途径主要包括组蛋白的乙酰化和DNA的甲基化。它们不改变DNA中核苷酸的序列,却能影响基因的表达。这些不通过DNA序列改变而影响身体性状,有时能遗传给后代的变化就叫做"表观遗传"修饰。     

mTOR信号途径与表观遗传关系的研究进展

mTOR(mammalian target of rapamycin)是雷帕霉素在哺乳动物细胞内作用的蛋白激酶, 通过PI3K/Akt信号磷酸化激活而调控细胞分裂、促进转录、信号翻译等, mTOR抑制剂具有抗肿瘤和免疫抑制的潜力, 已进入临床II期试验。DNA甲基化可沉默基因转录, 组蛋白磷酸化的动态变化主要影响信号传导通路中相关基因的转录, DNA甲基化和组蛋白共价修饰以及RNA干扰技术都是表观遗传修饰的方式, 可以调节mTOR信号途径蛋白激酶的表达, 激活或抑制mTOR也可以影响DNA甲基化和组蛋白磷酸化等。本文将对mTOR信号途径与表观遗传关系的研究进展作一综述。     

表遗传学研究进展及其应用

表遗传体系包括DNA甲基化、RNA干涉、基因组印迹和组蛋白密码等多方面。它们们在生物体生长发育过程中对基因表达和调控有重要作用,而且与生物体的防御机制和生物遗传信息的传递存在密切联系。表遗传在肿瘤上也有重要应用,表遗传机制的异常通过使癌遗传学途径基因失能与获能、增加基因组的不稳定性和印迹丢失等途径参与肿瘤的形成,同时也启发了对肿瘤防治的研究。就表遗传这一新的分子生物学研究领域的发展及最新研究进展进行了综述。     

表观遗传学及其研究方法

表观遗传学是一门重要的生命学科,主要包括DNA的甲基化、组蛋白修饰以及非编码RNA等内容,其中任何一方面的表观遗传学变化对生物体的生命过程都有重要的影响。近年来随着生命科学的快速发展,表观遗传学越来越受到人们的关注,各种先进科技的应用也使得表观遗传学实验技术得到快速的发展。本文对DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰及非编码RNA的基本内容及实验方法进行了综述,并对不同的研究方法进行分析,有利于表观遗传学的深入研究。     

Epigenetic memory transmission through mitosis and meiosis in plants

Gene activities can be regulated by epigenetic modifications of nucleotides and chromatin that are stably propagated through somatic cell divisions and, in some cases, across generations. The mechanisms that control epigenetic marks have recently been uncovered using model organisms, such as the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana. In Arabidopsis, perturbation of epigenetic gene activity often results in heritable developmental phenotypes. Stable, but potentially reversible, changes in epigenetic status can also be sources for phenotypic variations in natural plant populations.     

Epigenetic regulation of autophagy in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has become the most serious global public health issue in the past two years, requiring effective therapeutic strategies. This viral infection is a contagious disease caused by new coronaviruses (nCoVs), also called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Autophagy, as a highly conserved catabolic recycling process, plays a significant role in the growth and replication of coronaviruses (CoVs). Therefore, there is great interest in understanding the mechanisms that underlie autophagy modulation. The modulation of autophagy is a very complex and multifactorial process, which includes different epigenetic alterations, such as histone modifications and DNA methylation. These mechanisms are also known to be involved in SARS-CoV-2 replication. Thus, molecular understanding of the epigenetic pathways linked with autophagy and COVID-19, could provide novel therapeutic targets for COVID-19 eradication. In this context, the current review highlights the role of epigenetic regulation of autophagy in controlling COVID-19, focusing on the potential therapeutic implications.     

Chromatin regulators of genomic imprinting

Genomic imprinting is an epigenetic phenomenon in which genes are expressed monoallelically in a parent-of-origin-specific manner. Each chromosome is imprinted with its parental identity. Here we will discuss the nature of this imprinting mark. DNA methylation has a well-established central role in imprinting, and the details of DNA methylation dynamics and the mechanisms that target it to imprinted loci are areas of active investigation. However, there is increasing evidence that DNA methylation is not solely responsible for imprinted expression. At the same time, there is growing appreciation for the contributions of post-translational histone modifications to the regulation of imprinting. The integration of our understanding of these two mechanisms is an important goal for the future of the imprinting field. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Chromatin and epigenetic regulation of animal development.     

First Barcelona Conference on Epigenetics and Cancer

The Barcelona Conference on Epigenetics and Cancer (BCEC) entitled “Challenges, opportunities and perspectives” took place November 21–22, 2013 in Barcelona. The 2013 BCEC is the first edition of a series of annual conferences jointly organized by five leading research centers in Barcelona. These centers are the Institute of Predictive and Personalized Medicine of Cancer (IMPPC), the Biomedical Campus Bellvitge with its Program of Epigenetics and Cancer Biology (PEBC), the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), the Institute for Biomedical Research (IRB), and the Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (IBMB). Manuel Perucho and Marcus Buschbeck from the Institute of Predictive and Personalized Medicine of Cancer put together the scientific program of the first conference broadly covering all aspects of epigenetic research ranging from fundamental molecular research to drug and biomarker development and clinical application. In one and a half days, 23 talks and 50 posters were presented to a completely booked out audience counting 270 participants.     

First Barcelona Conference on Epigenetics and Cancer

The Barcelona Conference on Epigenetics and Cancer (BCEC) entitled “Challenges, opportunities and perspectives” took place November 21–22, 2013 in Barcelona. The 2013 BCEC is the first edition of a series of annual conferences jointly organized by five leading research centers in Barcelona. These centers are the Institute of Predictive and Personalized Medicine of Cancer (IMPPC), the Biomedical Campus Bellvitge with its Program of Epigenetics and Cancer Biology (PEBC), the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), the Institute for Biomedical Research (IRB), and the Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (IBMB). Manuel Perucho and Marcus Buschbeck from the Institute of Predictive and Personalized Medicine of Cancer put together the scientific program of the first conference broadly covering all aspects of epigenetic research ranging from fundamental molecular research to drug and biomarker development and clinical application. In one and a half days, 23 talks and 50 posters were presented to a completely booked out audience counting 270 participants.