Establishing a role for environmental toxicant exposure induced epigenetic remodeling in malignant transformation

Publication date: Available online 16 November 2018Source: Seminars in Cancer BiologyAuthor(s): Kristen M. Humphrey, Sumali Pandey, Jeffery Martin, Tamara Hagoel, Anne Grand’Maison, Joyce E. OhmAbstractHumans are exposed to a wide variety of environmental exposures throughout their lifespan. These include both naturally occurring toxins and chemical toxicants like pesticides, herbicides, and industrial chemicals, many of which have been implicated as possible contributors to human disease susceptibility [[1], [2], [3]]. We, and others, have hypothesized that environmental exposures may cause adaptive epigenetic changes in regenerative cell populations and developing organisms, leading to abnormal gene expression and increased disease susceptibility later in life [3]. Common epigenetic changes include changes in miRNA expression, covalent histone modifications, and methylation of DNA. Importantly, due to their heritable nature, abnormal epigenetic modifications which occur within stem cells may be particularly deleterious. Abnormal epigenetic changes in regenerative cell linages can be passed onto a large population of daughter cells and can persist for long periods of time. It is well established that an accumulation of epigenetic changes can lead to many human diseases including cancer [[4], [5], [6]]. Subsequently, it is imperative that we increase our understanding of how common environmental toxins and toxicants can induce epigenetic changes, particularly in stem cell p...
Source: Seminars in Cancer Biology - Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: research