Methylation matters: modeling a manageable genome.
Methylation matters: modeling a manageable genome.
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发表时间：
2002-04
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通讯作者：
Jared M. Ordway;T. Curran
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作者：
Jared M. Ordway;T. Curran
Transcription control was once an understandable topic. The prevailing view was that transcription factors sought out and bound to specific DNA sequences, thereby introducing activators or repressors to particular target genes. Although these interactions could erect elaborate castles on DNA, it was possible to consider these edifices as a kind of simplistic “Lego model.” For more than a decade, transcription regulation was presented in cartoon representations of everincreasing Technicolor glory with DNA drawn in a straight line. Slowly, the line began to bend as concepts dealing with the structural packaging of DNA were considered. Today, an accumulated wealth of data has placed chromatin structure in a pre-eminent position in the field of transcription regulation. It used to be that discussion of chromatin was relegated to the postbanquet morning session at conferences. Attended by just the die-hards and the remnants of the night before who had not yet made it back to their rooms, the talks were often replete with rigorous science, and they sparked intense discussion. From the field of epigenetic regulation, DNA methylation was among the first topics to emerge onto center stage and to be featured in plenary talks, with histone acetylation close behind. The transcription factor “Lego” models adopted new components, and a loose coalition was formed between the transcription and chromatin fields. Now, it is quite respectable to discuss the importance of chromatin structure, DNA methylation, and histone modification to transcriptional control in many biological contexts and particularly in cancer. Therefore, it is worth some effort to consider the relative contributions and to examine the cooperative interactions among all components of the gene regulation machinery. This is particularly pertinent if we hope to intervene in the mechanisms that control gene expression to correct the errors that result in oncogenic transformation. Here, we will review recent progress toward understanding the role of DNA methylation in epigenetic regulation of gene expression, the interactions between DNA methylation and other epigenetic systems that modulate chromatin structure, and the relevance of these topics to cancer.
