Epigenetics and aging: the targets and the marks.

@article{citeulike:1394954, abstract = {'Aging epigenetics' is an emerging field that promises exciting revelations in the near future. Here we focus on the functional and biological significance of the epigenetic alterations that accumulate during aging and are important in tumorigenesis. Paradigmatic examples are provided by the global loss of DNA methylation in aging and cancer and by the promoter hypermethylation of genes with a dual role in tumor suppression and progeria, such as the Werner syndrome (WRN) and lamin A/C genes. Another twist is provided by sirtuins, a family of NAD-dependent deacetylases that act on Lys16 of histone H4, which are emerging as a link between cellular transformation and lifespan.}, address = {Cancer Epigenetics Laboratory, Spanish National Cancer Centre (CNIO), Melchor Fernandez Almagro 3, 28029 Madrid, Spain.}, author = {Fraga, Mario F. F. and Esteller, Manel }, citeulike-article-id = {1394954}, comment = {Epigenetic mitotic inheritance is critically involved in cellular differentiation and cell fate decisions. Recent research has provided a mechanistic understanding of the key phases of epigenetic regulation during development (Reik, 2007). To start with, germ cells carry highly specialized and parent-specific epigenetic information. Shortly after fertilization, a fundamental reprogramming step resets most epigenetic information to a default state, which might be derived from properties of the DNA sequence. This reprogrammed epigenetic state seems to be crucial for the pluripotency of ES cells (i.e. for their ability to differentiate into diverse tissue types). During cellular differentiation, ES cells reprogram their epigenetic state once again when tissue-specific transcription factors are activated and pluripotency-specific genes become silenced. In terminally differentiated cells, epigenetic information is faithfully propagated during cell division. However, cellular ageing leads to increasing heterogeneity within a cell population and can also contribute to tumor development (Fraga and Esteller, 2007). Finally, the specialized cells of the germline reprogram epigenetic information in a parent-specific way, before it is passed on to the offspring as sperm or egg. }, doi = {10.1016/j.tig.2007.05.008}, issn = {0168-9525}, journal = {Trends Genet}, keywords = {cancer, review}, month = {June}, posted-at = {2008-01-18 14:54:09}, priority = {4}, title = {Epigenetics and aging: the targets and the marks.}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tig.2007.05.008}, year = {2007} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:1394954 L3 - citeulike-article-id:1394954 TI - Epigenetics and aging: the targets and the marks. JF - Trends Genet AD - Cancer Epigenetics Laboratory, Spanish National Cancer Centre (CNIO), Melchor Fernandez Almagro 3, 28029 Madrid, Spain. SN - 0168-9525 N2 - 'Aging epigenetics' is an emerging field that promises exciting revelations in the near future. Here we focus on the functional and biological significance of the epigenetic alterations that accumulate during aging and are important in tumorigenesis. Paradigmatic examples are provided by the global loss of DNA methylation in aging and cancer and by the promoter hypermethylation of genes with a dual role in tumor suppression and progeria, such as the Werner syndrome (WRN) and lamin A/C genes. Another twist is provided by sirtuins, a family of NAD-dependent deacetylases that act on Lys16 of histone H4, which are emerging as a link between cellular transformation and lifespan. KW - cancer KW - review N1 - Epigenetic mitotic inheritance is critically involved in cellular differentiation and cell fate decisions. Recent research has provided a mechanistic understanding of the key phases of epigenetic regulation during development (Reik, 2007). To start with, germ cells carry highly specialized and parent-specific epigenetic information. Shortly after fertilization, a fundamental reprogramming step resets most epigenetic information to a default state, which might be derived from properties of the DNA sequence. This reprogrammed epigenetic state seems to be crucial for the pluripotency of ES cells (i.e. for their ability to differentiate into diverse tissue types). During cellular differentiation, ES cells reprogram their epigenetic state once again when tissue-specific transcription factors are activated and pluripotency-specific genes become silenced. In terminally differentiated cells, epigenetic information is faithfully propagated during cell division. However, cellular ageing leads to increasing heterogeneity within a cell population and can also contribute to tumor development (Fraga and Esteller, 2007). Finally, the specialized cells of the germline reprogram epigenetic information in a parent-specific way, before it is passed on to the offspring as sperm or egg. AU - Fraga, Mario AU - Esteller, Manel PY - 2007/06/06/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tig.2007.05.008 ER -