Premium
The Epigenetic Basis of Cell Type Specificity
Author(s) -
futscher bernard
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.83.1
Subject(s) - epigenetics , biology , microrna , cell type , gene , phenotype , cell , genetics , computational biology , microbiology and biotechnology
Epigenetic mechanisms participate in the normal cellular regulation of a number of cell type‐specific miRNA and protein‐coding genes, and these mechanisms help impart normal cell identity and function. As such, disrupting the normal epigenetic state of these genes can result in a pathological cellular state. Since miRNAs can regulate many genes simultaneously, miRNA genes likely represent important nodes that help control normal cell identity and function, and their epigenetic disruption may be important in disease initiation and progression. With a focus on miRNAs relevant to normal and diseased breast and using genome‐wide approaches, we identified the cell type specific miRNAs that are regulated by epigenetic mechanisms in isogenic human mammary epithelial cells and fibroblasts, each a major cell type present within the breast with their own distinct phenotypes and epigenotypes. Almost 10% of the expressed miRNA were linked to a cell type‐specific epigenetic regulation of their promoter. These cell type‐specific, epigenetically regulated miRNAs include a number previously linked to cancer, including MIR10A, MIR10B, MIR205, MIR200C/141 and MIR200A/200B/429. It is predicted that epigenetic dysfunction of cell type‐specific miRNAs participates in other complex human diseases, in addition to cancer.