TY - JOUR
T1 - Polycomb and the emerging epigenetics of pancreatic cancer
AU - Grzenda, Adrienne
AU - Ordog, Tamas
AU - Urrutia, Raul
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements This review was supported by National Institutes of Health Grants T32CA148073, DK52913, and DK058185.
PY - 2011/6
Y1 - 2011/6
N2 - Introduction: The revolution of epigenetics has revitalized cancer research, shifting focus away from somatic mutation toward a more holistic perspective involving the dynamic states of chromatin. Disruption of chromatin organization can directly and indirectly precipitate genomic instability and transformation. Discussion: One group of epigenetic mediators, the Polycomb group (PcG) proteins, establishes heritable gene repression through methylation of histone tails. Although classically considered regulators of development and cellular differentiation, PcG proteins engage in a variety of neoplastic processes, including cellular proliferation and invasion. Due to their multifaceted potential, PcG proteins rest at the intersection of transcriptional memory and malignancy. Expression levels of PcG proteins hold enormous diagnostic and prognostic value in breast, prostate, and more recently, gastrointestinal cancers. Conclusion: In this review, we briefly summarize the function of PcG proteins and report the latest developments in understanding their role in pancreatic cancer.
AB - Introduction: The revolution of epigenetics has revitalized cancer research, shifting focus away from somatic mutation toward a more holistic perspective involving the dynamic states of chromatin. Disruption of chromatin organization can directly and indirectly precipitate genomic instability and transformation. Discussion: One group of epigenetic mediators, the Polycomb group (PcG) proteins, establishes heritable gene repression through methylation of histone tails. Although classically considered regulators of development and cellular differentiation, PcG proteins engage in a variety of neoplastic processes, including cellular proliferation and invasion. Due to their multifaceted potential, PcG proteins rest at the intersection of transcriptional memory and malignancy. Expression levels of PcG proteins hold enormous diagnostic and prognostic value in breast, prostate, and more recently, gastrointestinal cancers. Conclusion: In this review, we briefly summarize the function of PcG proteins and report the latest developments in understanding their role in pancreatic cancer.
KW - Epigenetics
KW - Pancreatic cancer
KW - Polycomb
KW - Polycomb repressive complex
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U2 - 10.1007/s12029-011-9262-4
DO - 10.1007/s12029-011-9262-4
M3 - Review article
C2 - 21336826
AN - SCOPUS:79956226771
SN - 1941-6628
VL - 42
SP - 100
EP - 111
JO - Journal of gastrointestinal cancer
JF - Journal of gastrointestinal cancer
IS - 2
ER -