 | EPIGENETICS IN CANCER PREVENTION: EARLY DETECTION AND RISK ASSESSMENT
Copyright © 2003 by the New York Academy of Sciences
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Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 983:170-180 (2003)
© 2003 New York Academy of Sciences
Viral Genes and Methylation
MUKESH VERMA
Cancer Biomarkers Research Group, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland 20852-7362, USA
Address for correspondence: Mukesh Verma, Ph.D., Program Director, Cancer Biomarkers Research Group, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Executive Plaza North, Room 3144, 6130 Executive Boulevard, Rockville, MD 20852-7346. Voice: 301-496-3893; fax: 301-402-0816.
mv66j{at}nih.gov
Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 983: 170-180 (2003).
Epigenetics represents a new frontier in cancer research. Methylation is the best studied of the epigenetic mechanisms that regulate gene expression. Regulation of gene expression by means of methylation has been reported for tumor suppressor genes, oncogenes, viral promoters, and age-related genes. In this review, the regulation of viral gene expression by methylation is discussed, with particular emphasis on: (1) the virus-specific factors that bind to promoter regions; (2) the implications of this knowledge for designing viral vectors that can be used to deliver genes for the purpose of gene therapy; and (3) the use of this knowledge for the early detection and prevention of cancer. Since methylation can be reversed by a variety of exogenous agents, great potential exists to develop interventions that target cancer-associated aberrant methylation in an effort to reverse or prevent carcinogenesis.
Key Words: acetylation • acetyltransferase • cancer • early detection • epigenetics • long-terminal repeat • methylation • methyltransferase • prevention • risk assessment
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