The early pregnancy placenta foreshadows DNA methylation alterations of solid tumors.

ABSTRACT: The placenta relies on phenotypes that are characteristic of cancer to successfully implant the embryo in the uterus during early pregnancy. Notably, it has to invade its host tissues, promote angiogenesis-while surviving hypoxia-, and escape the immune system. Similarities in DNA methylation patterns between the placenta and cancers suggest that common epigenetic mechanisms may be involved in regulating these behaviors. We show here that megabase-scale patterns of hypomethylation distinguish first from third trimester chorionic villi in the placenta, and that these patterns mirror those that distinguish many tumors from corresponding normal tissues. We confirmed these findings in villous cytotrophoblasts isolated from the placenta and identified a time window at the end of the first trime

SUBMITTER: Nordor AV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5739102 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature