Epigenetic Landscape in Cancer: From Biomarker Identification to Drug Discovery

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Biomarkers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 May 2022) | Viewed by 6352

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania 'Luigi Vanvitelli', Via L. De Crecchio 7, 80138 Naples, Italy
Interests: tumor microenvironment; epigenetics; immunotherapy; drug discovery; signal transduction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania 'Luigi Vanvitelli', Via L. De Crecchio 7, 80138 Naples, Italy
Interests: epigenetics; molecular biology; cancer; RNA modifications; drug discovery; genomics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Epigenetics represents the study of the chromatin context that regulates and perpetuates different gene activities in the presence of the same DNA sequence. The intrinsic relationship between DNA, proteins and RNAs that regulates gene function is also controlled by several environmental factors and is transmissible from one generation to the next. In recent years, epi-mutations, by breaking down specific gene regulatory mechanisms, have been highlighted to play a critical role in contributing to the hallmarks of cancer. Since the alteration of chromatin machinery is a common occurrence in different types of malignancies, it can become a valid target for their eradication, including those tumors resistant to conventional therapy, such as metastatic cancers. Additionally, epigenetic alterations are already being incorporated as valuable biomarker candidates, and some epigenetic biomarkers have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for diagnosis, prognosis, or response to cancer therapy. Therefore, identifying and exploring new epigenetic targets as well as biomarkers will represent a desirable milestone in the next decade. The proposed Special Issue aims to address all the aspects of epigenetics applied to the identification of new biomarkers and the discovery of new drugs for the treatment of both solid and hematological cancers, with reference to the exploitation of new knowledge acquired for development of new targeted personalized therapies.

Dr. Mariarosaria Conte
Dr. Nunzio Del Gaudio
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • cancer
  • epigenetics
  • biomarker
  • drug discovery
  • targeted therapy
  • chromatin
  • gene function

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 4312 KiB  
Article
Potential Diagnostic Value of the Differential Expression of Histone H3 Variants between Low- and High-Grade Gliomas
by Irati Hervás-Corpión, Andrea Gallardo-Orihuela, Inmaculada Catalina-Fernández, Irene Iglesias-Lozano, Olga Soto-Torres, Noelia Geribaldi-Doldán, Samuel Domínguez-García, Nuria Luna-García, Raquel Romero-García, Francisco Mora-López, Marianela Iriarte-Gahete, Jorge C. Morales, Antonio Campos-Caro, Carmen Castro, José L. Gil-Salú and Luis M. Valor
Cancers 2021, 13(21), 5261; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13215261 - 20 Oct 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2362
Abstract
Glioblastoma (GB) is the most aggressive form of glioma and is characterized by poor prognosis and high recurrence despite intensive clinical interventions. To retrieve the key factors underlying the high malignancy of GB with potential diagnosis utility, we combined the analysis of The [...] Read more.
Glioblastoma (GB) is the most aggressive form of glioma and is characterized by poor prognosis and high recurrence despite intensive clinical interventions. To retrieve the key factors underlying the high malignancy of GB with potential diagnosis utility, we combined the analysis of The Cancer Gene Atlas and the REMBRANDT datasets plus a molecular examination of our own collection of surgical tumor resections. We determined a net reduction in the levels of the non-canonical histone H3 variant H3.3 in GB compared to lower-grade astrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas with a concomitant increase in the levels of the canonical histone H3 variants H3.1/H3.2. This increase can be potentially useful in the clinical diagnosis of high-grade gliomas, as evidenced by an immunohistochemistry screening of our cohort and can be at least partially explained by the induction of multiple histone genes encoding these canonical forms. Moreover, GBs showing low bulk levels of the H3.1/H3.2 proteins were more transcriptionally similar to low-grade gliomas than GBs showing high levels of H3.1/H3.2. In conclusion, this study identifies an imbalanced ratio between the H3 variants associated with glioma malignancy and molecular patterns relevant to the biology of gliomas, and proposes the examination of the H3.3 and H3.1/H3.2 levels to further refine diagnosis of low- and high-grade gliomas in future studies. Full article
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15 pages, 681 KiB  
Review
Heterochromatin Protein 1: A Multiplayer in Cancer Progression
by Yu Hyun Jeon, Go Woon Kim, So Yeon Kim, Sang Ah Yi, Jung Yoo, Ji Yoon Kim, Sang Wu Lee and So Hee Kwon
Cancers 2022, 14(3), 763; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14030763 - 1 Feb 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3255
Abstract
Dysregulation of epigenetic mechanisms as well as genomic mutations contribute to the initiation and progression of cancer. In addition to histone code writers, including histone lysine methyltransferase (KMT), and histone code erasers, including histone lysine demethylase (KDM), histone code reader proteins such as [...] Read more.
Dysregulation of epigenetic mechanisms as well as genomic mutations contribute to the initiation and progression of cancer. In addition to histone code writers, including histone lysine methyltransferase (KMT), and histone code erasers, including histone lysine demethylase (KDM), histone code reader proteins such as HP1 are associated with abnormal chromatin regulation in human diseases. Heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) recognizes histone H3 lysine 9 methylation and broadly affects chromatin biology, such as heterochromatin formation and maintenance, transcriptional regulation, DNA repair, chromatin remodeling, and chromosomal segregation. Molecular functions of HP1 proteins have been extensively studied, although their exact roles in diseases require further study. Here, we comprehensively review the studies that have revealed the altered expression of HP1 and its functions in tumorigenesis. In particular, the distinctive effects of each HP1 subtype, namely HP1α, HP1β, and HP1γ, have been thoroughly explored in various cancer types. We also highlight how HP1 can serve as a potential biomarker for cancer prognosis and therapeutic target for cancer patients. Full article
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