title: The Fine LINE: Methylation Drawing the Cancer Landscape.
abstract: LINE-1 (L1) is the most abundant mammalian transposable element that comprises nearly 20% of the genome, and nearly half of the mammalian genome has stemmed from L1-mediated mobilization. Expression and retrotransposition of L1 are suppressed by complex mechanisms, where the key role belongs to DNA methylation. Alterations in L1 methylation may lead to aberrant expression of L1 and have been described in numerous diseases. Accumulating evidence clearly indicates that loss of global DNA methylation observed in cancer development and progression is tightly associated with hypomethylation of L1 elements. Significant progress achieved in the last several years suggests that such parameters as L1 methylation status can be potentially utilized as clinical biomarkers for determination of the disease stage and in predicting the disease-free survival in cancer patients. In this paper, we summarize the current knowledge on L1 methylation, with specific emphasis given to success and challenges on the way of introduction of L1 into clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 W. Markham Street, Little Rock, AR 72205-7199, USA.
authors.forename: Isabelle R
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Miousse
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 W. Markham Street, Little Rock, AR 72205-7199, USA.
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Koturbash
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019175:DNA Methylation; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D020084:Long Interspersed Nucleotide Elements; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D004273:DNA, Neoplasm