title: On the meaning of the word 'epimutation'.
abstract: The word 'epimutation' is often used in a manner that can be misinterpreted. The strict definition of epimutation is a heritable change in gene activity that is not associated with a DNA mutation but rather with gain or loss of DNA methylation or other heritable modifications of chromatin. Unfortunately, there is a growing tendency in the cancer field to use the word in situations in which underlying DNA sequence changes have occurred.
authors.affiliation: La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, Melbourne, VIC 3086, Australia.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Oey
authors.affiliation: La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, Melbourne, VIC 3086, Australia. Electronic address: e.whitelaw@latrobe.edu.au.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Whitelaw
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D019175:DNA Methylation; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation; D009626:Terminology as Topic
chemical_list: D004247:DNA