Biomedical Engineering Reference
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fig. 4.1. The epigenome
consists of chemical modiica-
tions to some of the C bases
that lie next to Gs in the same
DnA strand and of chemical
modifications to some of
the histone proteins around
which double-stranded DnA
is wrapped. some histone
modifica tions (
solid triangles
)
loosen DnA's association with
the histones and facilitate gene
activity, while other modi-
fica tions (
solid circles
) tighten
DnA's wrapping around
histones and repress gene
activity.
relationships . . . that provide function to the DnA code, which will al-
low a fuller understanding of normal development, aging, abnormal gene
control in cancer and other diseases, as well as the role of the environ-
ment in human health” (Jones and martienssen 2005, 11241). in 2005,
the editor-in-chief of the journal
Cancer Research
strongly supported estab-
lishing a heP, writing, “Therapies using the epigenome as a target have
the capacity to deliver on the promise of genomic/molecular medicine”
(rauscher 2005, 11229).
since 2005, impressive advances in relating the epigenome to cancer
causes, diagnosis, and therapy presage a revolution in our understanding
and treatment of cancers (esteller 2011). for example, by 2010 approxi-
mately three hundred epigenetically modified genes had been associated
with cancer cells. some of these genes are so-called tumor-suppressor genes
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