title: Mutual regulation of microRNAs and DNA methylation in human cancers.
abstract: microRNAs (miRNAs) and DNA methylation are the 2 epigenetic modifications that have emerged in recent years as the most critical players in the regulation of gene expression. Compelling evidence has indicated the roles of miRNAs and DNA methylation in modulating cellular transformation and tumorigenesis. miRNAs act as negative regulators of gene expression and are involved in the regulation of both physiologic conditions and during diseases, such as cancer, inflammatory diseases, and psychiatric disorders, among others. Meanwhile, aberrant DNA methylation manifests in both global genome changes and in localized gene promoter changes, which influences the transcription of cancer genes. In this review, we described the mutual regulation of miRNAs and DNA methylation in human cancers. miRNAs regulate DNA methylation by targeting DNA methyltransferases or methylation-related proteins. On the other hand, both hyper- and hypo-methylation of miRNAs occur frequently in human cancers and represent a new level of complexity in gene regulation. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms underlying the mutual regulation of miRNAs and DNA methylation may provide helpful insights in the development of efficient therapeutic approaches.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Oncology , Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine , Guangzhou, Guangdong , P. R. China.|b Department of Systems Biology , The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center , Houston , TX , USA.
authors.forename: Sumei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: a Department of Oncology , Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine , Guangzhou, Guangdong , P. R. China.
authors.forename: Wanyin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: b Department of Systems Biology , The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center , Houston , TX , USA.|c Experimental Therapeutics Academic Program and Cancer Biology Program , The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston , Houston , TX , USA.
authors.forename: Francois X
authors.initials: FX
authors.lastname: Claret
mesh_terms: D018899:CpG Islands / Q000235:genetics; D019175:DNA Methylation / Q000235:genetics*; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: Cancer; DNA methylation; epigenetics; microRNA; regulation; therapeutics