Abstract
DNA methylation is inherited upon somatic cell division, and methylation of a promoter CpG island silences its downstream gene. Methylation alterations in cancer cells are characterized by aberrant methylation of specific promoter CpG islands, which can cause inactivation of both tumor-suppressor genes (driver) and other genes (passenger), and by global hypomethylation. Recent studies revealed that aberrant methylation is present even in non-cancerous tissues, and its level is associated with cancer risk (an epigenetic field for cancerization). Quantification of methylation revealed that aberrant methylation can be induced much more frequently than mutations, and it has already been indicated that methylation alterations are involved in epithelial-mesenchymal transition. The high frequency of methylation alterations also suggested that they could be involved in phenotypic changes of stromal cells, and thus formation of cancer microenvironment. DNA methylation alterations are likely to be important players not only in transformation of epithelial cells but also in the formation of cancer microenvironment by stromal cells.
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