The Role Of Dna Methylation On Breast Cancer

Epigenetics is a study that entails the heritage changes in gene expressions, which includes both the active and the inactive genes; the changes do not involve changes to the underlying DNA sequence. Meaning, it is a change in phenotypes without the differences in genotypes and consequently, affect how the cells read the genes. The epigenetic modification is a natural occurrence but apparently can be influenced by other several factors, including diseases, the environment, and age. Epigenetic changes can result in adverse damages and can end up causing infections such as cancer (Barton et al, 2016). This paper looks at what epigenetics entails, the hidden life of our genes, how food affects genes and how one can elongate life by improving health status.

The first major effects of epigenetics on genes can be seen in the role of DNA methylation in mammalian epigenetics. DNA methylation provides a method of gene control in an organism, where it assures proper gene expression, as well as silencing of genes within cells, it does this through the manipulation of chromosome architecture, where it affects the packaging of the DNA by the binding of a methyl group to cytosine (Kullis & Esteller, 2010). The effects of this can

Breast Cancer is a type of cancer where in the breast cells growth are uncontrolled. To enhance our understanding of breast cancer, knowing how any cancer can develop is crucial. Cancer develops as a result of the alteration of the genes, or abnormal changes in the genes accountable for managing the growth of the cells and maintaining their health. In each nucleus, the genes operates as the “control room.” The cells in our bodies replace themselves through a process called cell growth in which the

Another factor that contributes to the development of breast cancer is actually the hormone estrogen. This seems unusual because estrogen is a hormone that is essential to the bodies of women in various ways. Estrogen is necessary for normal growth and development of breasts and reproductive organs, as well as for the maintenance of a healthy heart and bones. However, lifetime estrogen exposure may increase a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer. It does not actually produce the mutation in the DNA, nevertheless Estrogen stimulates the proliferation of breast cells that already contain a mutation. These mutated cells will continue to reproduce and have an increased chance of becoming cancerous.

In fact, epigenetics allows having a deeper view on roots of cancer and cell mutations. This is why this information may be useful for researchers, who study the problem of cancer, its development, treatment and prevention. Epigenetics can provide scientists with valuable information about cancer and cell mutation. More important, epigenetics uncovers specific chemical reactions and their impact on genome and, therefore, cell response on those chemical reactions. The study of such responses may help to uncover new properties of cells that can be used further in the treatment of cancer or in the prevention of the

Breast cancer constitutes the second most prevalent cancer most common among women of the world with an estimated 1.62 million reported cases in 2012 which constitutes 25% of all cancer cases and ranks fifth among mortality due to cancer (Ferlay et al., 2015). In the United States, according to American Cancer Society an

BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations and breast cancer seem to be distributed among a variety of populations.

On Wednesday September 25, we watched a film that changed many people’s lives. The film was about a woman with a goal. A goal that if achieved, it had the ability to impact many families for the better. The woman whom the film is centered toward is Mary-Claire King. Mary, a graduate from UC Berkley, was a cancer researcher and used her background to make significant discoveries. In the film, the cancer that Mary-Claire focuses on is breast cancer. Dr. Mary-Claire wondered why breast cancer seemed to be an inherited trait in some families. Thus, she decided to focus her research on ways the cancer can be inherited. She conducted her research by gathering families with the “inherited” breast cancer gene. Mary-Claire and company was going to look at chromosomes of each individual and then look at specific sections of the chromosomes. Next, they would compare the DNA to those in the family to see if there were any differences or similarities. If there was a

Such findings, all of which relate to hormone-based life events, suggest that breast cancer is somehow affected by prolonged exposure to female sex hormones, such as estrogen. Women with a history of breast cancer in the family are also at greater risk. About five percent of all breast cancers have been attributed to a mutated, or structurally altered, gene known as BRCA1. Mutations in a second gene, BRCA2, contribute significantly to the development of breast cancer in Jewish women. Alcohol, high levels of fat in the diet, and not exercising regularly have also been linked to increased risk for breast cancer (Garber).

Epigenetics is the study of heritable modifications of your genes being expressed that are not manipulated by mutations in the DNA but by environmental factors. The increasing of inhibiting of transcribing genes is caused by epigenetic changes. The cells in the DNA are packaged together by proteins which are known as histones. DNA is wrapped around the protein (histones). Histone proteins and DNA are tagged chemically which alter gene expression. To impede DNA, DNA methylation is when a methyl group is added consisting of hydrogen and carbon molecules, which are used to limit gene expression. DNA methylation and Histone modification is most commonly known as an epigenetic modification. Epigenetic modifications are a long-term change in, which

According to the American Cancer Society, Each year, more than 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer; furthermore Twelve percent of all women will contract the disease, and 3.5% of them will die from breast cancer (American Cancer Society, 2005). There are risk factors that may lead to breast cancer. There are 4 stages of breast cancer and several treatments, although treatments vary from types and stages of breast cancer. Breast cancer is the leading cause of death among women who are 40 to 55 years old (Breast Cancer, 2009).Cancer occurs when cells divide uncontrollably. It changes from a normal cell to cancerous cells that require gene alterations. Therefore the altered genes and the uncontrolled growth may lead to tumors.

Epigenetics is the study of changes in gene expression that does not involve changing the DNA sequence. This change is a natural occurrence but is influenced by a person’s age, lifestyle, and the presence of disease. Epigenetics can manifest themselves commonly as skin cells, liver cells, or brain cells. But some epigenetic changes, such as cancer, can cause a great deal of damage.

Epigenetics can be hereditable or environmental factors that affect the expression of genes and lead to changes in gene expression. Unlike genetics, epigenetics does not only have to do with which genes are passed down to the offspring and the DNA sequence. The environmental conditions of the offspring’s parents impact the genes in their eggs and sperms by “switching on” certain genes and “switching of” others (Dowshen). Since the genes expression of the gametes are affect, the phenotypes of the offspring will change. Even in a person’s lifetime, environmental factors such as stress, chemical exposure, and diet can continue to impact gene expression through DNA methylation. During DNA methylation, a methyl group is randomly added to a 5-carbon cytosine ring, making 5-methylcytosine and these groups inhibit transcription. (Cheriyedath). Due the fact that transcription is not possible, the expressing of the genes in that section of the DNA strand will be suppressed. The attachment of the methyl group to DNA is not determined, which means that

Modification of damaged DNA seems to be an understudied subject, there is much to understand on the restoration of DNA damage, repair and DNA methylation. Genomic DNA can be modified by methylation but much of it is affected on a gene when silenced. When epigenetic modification has been implicated with cancer and aging it causes DNA methylation to also have an impact on the double strand of DNA analysis. Modification as such provoke deteriorating changes like aging found in multicellular organisms and DNA damage may magnify biochemical pathways that regulate a cells growth or control DNA replication with DNA repair. In the article “DNA Damage, Homology-Directed Repair, and DNA Methylation” written by Concetta Cuozzo, Antonio Porcellini, Tiziana Angrisano, et al. they hypothesize how DNA damage and gene silencing may induce a DNA double-strand break within a genome as well as when DNA methylation is induced by homologous recombination that it may somewhat mark its reparation through a DNA segment and protect its cells against any unregulated gene expression that may be followed by DNA damage. The experiments used to demonstration how gene conversion can modify methylation pattern of repaired DNA and when that occurs methylation is able to silence the recombined gene. When exploring the molecular mechanisms that link DNA damage and the silencing gene then there is an induced double strand break that can be found at a specific location or DNA sequence in where the

‘Epigenetics,’ derived from the Greek root ‘epi ' meaning on top of, is the study of dynamic regulation of gene expression due to factors that act on chromatin structure, nuclear architecture and other molecular events that do not change the DNA sequence (Stilling et al., 2014). In addition, epigenetics has sometimes been defined as sequence- independent heritable changes in gene expression (Holliday, 1987). Epigenetic processes include post-translational histone modification, as well as cytosine methylation and interactions of non-coding RNAs (Jaenisch & Bird, 2003; Landry et al., 2013). Post-translational histone acetylation results in a decreased