The thrill can kill: murder by methylation.
Why babies of crack-cocaine mothers develop heart problems has always been a mystery. In this issue of Molecular Pharmacology, Zhang et al. (p. 1319) show that a specific methylation occurs at the protein kinase Cepsilon (PKCepsilon) promoter of the babies born of mother rats exposed to cocaine. This reduces the expression of PKCepsilon, a naturally cardioprotective enzyme, which provides a plausible molecular mechanism for cardiac failure.
Barik
Sailen
S
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of South Alabama, College of Medicine, 307 University Blvd., Mobile, AL 36688-0002, USA. sbarik@jaguar1.usouthal.edu
D000818:Animals; D003042:Cocaine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D019175:DNA Methylation / Q000187:drug effects; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D005318:Fetal Heart / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D051744:Protein Kinase C-epsilon / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D018808:Transcription Factor AP-1 / Q000378:metabolism
D018808:Transcription Factor AP-1; D051744:Protein Kinase C-epsilon; D003042:Cocaine