title: Silent assassin: oncogenic ras directs epigenetic inactivation of target genes.
abstract: Oncogenic transformation is associated with genetic changes and epigenetic alterations. A study now shows that oncogenic Ras uses a complex and elaborate epigenetic silencing program to specifically repress the expression of multiple unrelated cancer-suppressing genes through a common pathway. These results suggest that cancer-related epigenetic modifications may arise through a specific and instructive mechanism and that genetic changes and epigenetic alterations are intimately connected and contribute to tumorigenesis cooperatively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-1031, USA. xcheng@utmb.edu
authors.forename: Xiaodong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cheng
mesh_terms: D018899:CpG Islands; D019175:DNA Methylation; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000502:physiology*; D020868:Gene Silencing; D015689:Oncogene Protein p21(ras) / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D015689:Oncogene Protein p21(ras)