aim :  to evaluate the association of dnmt1 and mgmt amino acid substitution polymorphisms and colorectal cancer in iranian population. background : the mgmt and dnmt1 are two important methyltransferase enzymes. amino acid substitution polymorphisms in mgmt and dnmt1 genes may be associated with the genetic susceptibility to sporadic colorectal cancer. patients and methods : we assessed eight ...

Gene activity is regulated by transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms. A paper in 2005 by Zhang et al.(1) showed that STAT3 binds to the DNA methyl transferase, DNMT1 and their data indicated that STAT3 may cause epigenetic gene silencing by targeting DNMT1 to the PTPN6 promoter. Now, a paper by Lee et al.(2) has fleshed out the mechanism. They provide evidence that acetylation of STAT3 regul...

BACKGROUND AND AIM The present study was designed to consider whether amino acid substitution polymorphisms in O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) and DNA methyl transferase 1 (DNMT1) genes may be associated with the genetic susceptibility to sporadic colorectal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS We assessed eight non-synonymous polymorphisms of these two genes by PCR/pyrosequencing. Our ...

The deoxycytidine analog decitabine (DAC) can deplete DNA methyl-transferase 1 (DNMT1) and thereby modify cellular epigenetics, gene expression, and differentiation. However, a barrier to efficacious and accessible DNMT1-targeted therapy is cytidine deaminase, an enzyme highly expressed in the intestine and liver that rapidly metabolizes DAC into inactive uridine counterparts, severely limiting...

Reelin and glutamic acid decarboxylase 67 (GAD67) mRNAs and protein levels are substantially reduced in postmortem brains of patients with schizophrenia. Increasing evidence suggests that the observed down-regulation of reelin and GAD67 gene expression may be caused by dysfunction of the epigenetic regulatory mechanisms operative in cortical GABAergic interneurons. To explore whether human reel...

Although a modest homocysteine (Hcy) elevation is associated with an increased cardiovascular risk, the underlying mechanisms whereby Hcy triggers the accumulation of cholesterol and the roles of the extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD) in the development of foam cells have not yet been elucidated. In this study, we found both increased numbers of foam cells and an accumulation of choles...

Transcriptional gene silencing is mediated by various epigenetic modifications including DNA methylation, histone modifications and recruitment of binding proteins that reads the methyl and other modification marks. The order in which these modifications occur followed by repressor protein recruitment remains contentious. Here, using purified protein components, we show that mammalian RNA polym...

Epigenetic inheritance in mammals relies in part on robust propagation of DNA methylation patterns throughout development. We show that the protein UHRF1 (ubiquitin-like, containing PHD and RING finger domains 1), also known as NP95 in mouse and ICBP90 in human, is required for maintaining DNA methylation. UHRF1 colocalizes with the maintenance DNA methyltransferase protein DNMT1 throughout S p...

The activation of breast stromal fibroblasts is a crucial step toward tumor growth and spread. Therefore, it is extremely important to understand the molecular basis of this activation and determine the molecules and the mechanisms responsible for its sustainability. In the present report we have shown that the DNA methyl-transferase protein DNMT1 is critical for the activation of breast stroma...