Connections between TET proteins and aberrant DNA modification in cancer.

ABSTRACT: DNA methylation has been linked to aberrant silencing of tumor suppressor genes in cancer, and an imbalance in DNA methylation-demethylation cycles is intimately implicated in the onset and progression of tumors. Ten-eleven translocation (TET) proteins are Fe(II)- and 2-oxoglutarate (2OG)-dependent dioxygenases that successively oxidize 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), 5-formylcytosine (5fC), and 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC), thereby mediating active DNA demethylation. In this review, we focus on the pathophysiological role of TET proteins and 5hmC in cancer. We present an overview of loss-of-function mutations and abnormal expression and regulation of TET proteins in hematological malignancies and solid tumors, and discuss the potential prognostic value of assessing

SUBMITTER: Huang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4337960 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature