Novel Epigenetic Biomarkers in Pregnancy-Related Disorders and Cancers
by
Valentina Karin-Kujundzic 1,2,†, Ida Marija Sola 3,†, Nina Predavec 1, Anamarija Potkonjak 1, Ema Somen 1, Pavao Mioc 1, Alan Serman 2,4,5, Semir Vranic 6,* and Ljiljana Serman 1,2,*
Valentina Karin-Kujundzic 1,2,†, Ida Marija Sola 3,†, Nina Predavec 1, Anamarija Potkonjak 1, Ema Somen 1, Pavao Mioc 1, Alan Serman 2,4,5, Semir Vranic 6,* and Ljiljana Serman 1,2,*
1
Department of Biology, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
2
Centre of Excellence in Reproductive and Regenerative Medicine, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
3
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Sestre Milosrdnice, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
4
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
5
Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Clinical Hospital “Sveti Duh”, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
6
College of Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Both authors contributed equally to this manuscript.
Cells 2019, 8(11), 1459; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells8111459
Received: 5 October 2019 / Revised: 8 November 2019 / Accepted: 14 November 2019 / Published: 18 November 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Navigating Through the Epigenetic Pathways of Cancer)
As the majority of cancers and gestational diseases are prognostically stage- and grade-dependent, the ultimate goal of ongoing studies in precision medicine is to provide early and timely diagnosis of such disorders. These studies have enabled the development of various new diagnostic biomarkers, such as free circulating nucleic acids, and detection of their epigenetic changes. Recently, extracellular vesicles including exosomes, microvesicles, oncosomes, and apoptotic bodies have been recognized as powerful diagnostic tools. Extracellular vesicles carry specific proteins, lipids, DNAs, mRNAs, and miRNAs of the cells that produced them, thus reflecting the function of these cells. It is believed that exosomes, in particular, may be the optimal biomarkers of pathological pregnancies and cancers, especially those that are frequently diagnosed at an advanced stage, such as ovarian cancer. In the present review, we survey and critically appraise novel epigenetic biomarkers related to free circulating nucleic acids and extracellular vesicles, focusing especially on their status in trophoblasts (pregnancy) and neoplastic cells (cancers).
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Keywords:
cell-free DNA; cell-free fetal DNA; cell-free tumor DNA; extracellular vesicles; exosomes; microRNA
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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Karin-Kujundzic, V.; Sola, I.M.; Predavec, N.; Potkonjak, A.; Somen, E.; Mioc, P.; Serman, A.; Vranic, S.; Serman, L. Novel Epigenetic Biomarkers in Pregnancy-Related Disorders and Cancers. Cells 2019, 8, 1459.
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