Abstract
Cancer initiation and progression is an accumulation of genetic and epigenetic modifications. DNA methylation is a common epigenetic modification that regulates gene expression, and aberrant DNA methylation patterns are considered a hallmark of cancer. The human diet is a source of micronutrients, bioactive molecules, and mycotoxins that have the ability to alter DNA methylation patterns and are thus a contributing factor for both the prevention and onset of cancer. Micronutrients such as betaine, choline, folate, and methionine serve as cofactors or methyl donors for one-carbon metabolism and other DNA methylation reactions. Dietary bioactive compounds such as curcumin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, genistein, quercetin, resveratrol, and sulforaphane reactivate essential tumor suppressor genes by reversing aberrant DNA methylation patterns, and therefore, they have shown potential against various cancers. In contrast, fungi-contaminated agricultural foods are a source of potent mycotoxins that induce carcinogenesis. In this review, we summarize the existing literature on dietary micronutrients, bioactive compounds, and food-borne mycotoxins that affect DNA methylation patterns and identify their potential in the onset and treatment of cancer.
Highlights
Cancer is a public health concern and a major cause of mortality worldwide
This study found that higher folate intake was associated with higher levels of CpG loci methylation, especially in the interleukin 17 receptor B (IL17RB) CpG locus, which is a gene that is commonly associated with the signaling cascade that promotes cancer cell survival, proliferation, and migration [63,64]
Micronutrients and bioactive dietary compounds have shown the potential to inhibit and prevent cancer, the main disadvantage is that the majority of these studies are conducted in vitro
Summary
Cancer is a public health concern and a major cause of mortality worldwide. According to the. It was reported that 25–80% of cancer patients used dietary compounds and/or micronutrient supplementation as a therapeutic agent to replenish the body’s nutritional needs after surgery and/or chemotherapy, inhibit tumor growth, and prevent tumor recurrence. Emerging evidence suggests that dietary micronutrients and bioactive molecules exhibit anti-cancer properties by reversing abnormal gene activation and inhibition through epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation [13,14,15,16,17,18], and these changes in DNA methylation may provide insight into future therapeutic interventions. We summarize existing literature on natural dietary micronutrients, bioactive compounds, and food-borne mycotoxins that affect DNA methylation patterns and identify its potential in the onset and treatment of cancer
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