A WIMSical approach to decoding DNA methylation in myeloid leukemia

摘要

Integrated transcriptomic and high-resolution whole genome methylation analysis in a myeloid leukemia cell line defines genes that respond to clinically relevant DNA methyltransferase inhibitors. Nucleotide sequence serves as the essential text of the genetic ‘book’ known as the human genome, but this book also comes with ‘reading instructions’, ‘bookmarks’ and ‘highlighted passages’ in the form of epigenetic patterns. Not surprisingly, the initiation and progression of cancer are governed not only by the accumulation of genetic lesions in the text itself but also by perturbations in the epigenome. Indeed, epigenetic alterations that dysregulate the ability of cancer cells to utilize genomic information are increasingly being appreciated as an important contributing factor in the development of different malignancies [1].