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Novel genetic and epigenetic alterations in ... - Ous-research.no

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IntroductionFigure 5. DNA methylation effects <strong>in</strong> <strong>no</strong>rmal <strong>and</strong> cancer cells. Methylation has important functions <strong>in</strong><strong>no</strong>rmal development <strong>and</strong> <strong>no</strong>rmal cells as shown to the left. The effects of the loss of epi<strong>genetic</strong> control <strong>in</strong>cancer are shown <strong>in</strong> right side of the figure.DNA methylation <strong>and</strong> cancerEver s<strong>in</strong>ce the discovery of hypomethylation <strong>in</strong> human tumors <strong>in</strong> 1983[43], it has been clearthat epi<strong>genetic</strong>s, <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong> particular methylation, plays an important role <strong>in</strong> cancerdevelopment. Even though hypomethylation triggered the <strong>in</strong>terest of epi<strong>genetic</strong>s <strong>and</strong> cancer,it is promoter hypermethylation that have stolen most of the headl<strong>in</strong>es thereafter, <strong>and</strong>especially subsequent to the f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g of promoter hypermethylation of the RB gene, thesymbol of Knudson’s two-hit hypothesis from twenty years prior[44], when the l<strong>in</strong>k betweenmethylation <strong>and</strong> reduced transcription was found[45]. In spite of the reserved suggestion ofpromoter hypermethylation be<strong>in</strong>g an <strong>in</strong>frequent event <strong>in</strong> human cancers, the article pavedway for an even stronger focus on methylation as an important factor <strong>in</strong>tumorigenesis[45;46].20

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