Tobacco smoke has been shown to produce both DNA damage and epigenetic alterations. However, the potential role of DNA damage in generating epigenetic changes is largely underinvestigated in human studies. We examined the effects of smoking on the levels of DNA methylation in genes for tumor protein p53, cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor2A, hypermethylated-in-cancer-1 (HIC1), interleukin-6, Lon...

Chronic inflammation impairs metabolic homeostasis and is intimately correlated with the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. The pro-inflammatory cytokine IFN-γ is an integral part of the metabolic inflammation circuit and contributes significantly to metabolic dysfunction. The underlying mechanism, however, remains largely unknown. In the present study, we report that IFN-γ disrupts the expressio...

The SIRTUIN1 (SIRT1) deacetylase responds to changes in nutrient availability and regulates mammalian physiology and metabolism. Human and mouse SIRT1 are transcriptionally repressed by p53 via p53 response elements in their proximal promoters. Here, we identify a novel p53-binding sequence in the distal human SIRT1 promoter that is required for nutrient-sensitive SIRT1 transcription. In additi...

PURPOSE Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men in Western counties, which has also occurred in Chinese male with markedly increasing incidence in recent years. Although the mechanism underlying its progression still remains unclear, epigenetic modifications are important ethological parameters. The purpose of this study is to determine the methylation status and ...