Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.1.1.37 (DNA methyltransferase)
 4,983 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

It is well established that transcriptional silencing of critical tumor-suppressor genes by DNA methylation is a fundamental component in the initiation of breast cancer. However, the involvement of microRNAs (miRNAs) in restoring abnormal DNA methylation patterns in breast cancer is not well understood. Therefore, we investigated whether miRNA-29b, due to its complimentarity to the 3'- untranslated region of DNA methyltransferase 3A (DNMT3A) and DNMT3B, could restore normal DNA methylation patterns in human breast cancers and breast cancer cell lines. We demonstrated that transfection of pre-miRNA-29b into less aggressive MCF-7 cells, but not MDA-MB-231 mesenchymal cells, inhibited cell proliferation, decreased DNMT3A and DNMT3B messenger RNA (mRNA), and decreased promoter methylation status of ADAM23 , CCNA1, CCND2, CDH1, CDKN1C, CDKN2A, HIC1, RASSF1, SLIT2, TNFRSF10D, and TP73 tumor-suppressor genes. Using methylation polymerase chain reaction (PCR) arrays and real-time PCR, we also demonstrated that the methylation status of several critical tumor-suppressor genes increased as stage of breast disease increased, while miRNA-29b mRNA levels were significantly decreased in breast cancers versus normal breast. This increase in methylation status was accompanied by an increase in DNMT1 and DNMT3B mRNA in advanced stage of human breast cancers and in MCF-7, MDA-MB-361, HCC70, Hs-578T, and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells as compared to normal breast specimens and MCF-10-2A, a non-tumorigenic breast cell line, respectively. Our findings highlight the potential for a new epigenetic approach in improving breast cancer therapy by targeting DNMT3A and DNMT3B through miRNA-29b in non-invasive epithelial breast cancer cells.
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PMID:Restoration of the methylation status of hypermethylated gene promoters by microRNA-29b in human breast cancer: A novel epigenetic therapeutic approach. 2396 Dec 62

DNA methyltransferase inhibitor (DNMTi) treatments have been used for patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and have shown promising beneficial effects in some other types of cancers. Here, we demonstrate that the transcriptional repressor ZBTB38 is a critical regulator of the cellular response to DNMTi. Treatments with 5-azacytidine, or its derivatives decitabine and zebularine, lead to down-regulation of ZBTB38 protein expression in cancer cells, in parallel with cellular damage. The depletion of ZBTB38 by RNA interference enhances the toxicity of DNMTi in cell lines from leukemia and from various solid tumor types. Further we observed that inactivation of ZBTB38 causes the up-regulation of CDKN1C mRNA, a previously described indirect target of DNMTi. We show that CDKN1C is a key actor of DNMTi toxicity in cells lacking ZBTB38. Finally, in patients with MDS a high level of CDKN1C mRNA expression before treatment correlates with a better clinical response to a drug regimen combining 5-azacytidine and histone deacetylase inhibitors. Collectively, our results suggest that the ZBTB38 protein is a target of DNMTi and that its depletion potentiates the toxicity of DNMT inhibitors in cancer cells, providing new opportunities to enhance the response to DNMT inhibitor therapies in patients with MDS and other cancers.
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PMID:Depletion of ZBTB38 potentiates the effects of DNA demethylating agents in cancer cells via CDKN1C mRNA up-regulation. 3031 57