CpG island hypermethylation-associated silencing of non-coding RNAs transcribed from ultraconserved regions in human cancer.

ABSTRACT: Although only 1.5% of the human genome appears to code for proteins, much effort in cancer research has been devoted to this minimal fraction of our DNA. However, the last few years have witnessed the realization that a large class of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), named microRNAs, contribute to cancer development and progression by acting as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes. Recent studies have also shown that epigenetic silencing of microRNAs with tumor suppressor features by CpG island hypermethylation is a common hallmark of human tumors. Thus, we wondered whether there were other ncRNAs undergoing aberrant DNA methylation-associated silencing in transformed cells. We focused on the transcribed-ultraconserved regions (T-UCRs), a subset of DNA sequences that are absolutely conserved betwe

SUBMITTER: Lujambio A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3007676 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature