{"102341":{"#nid":"102341","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Investigating the Role of Epigenetics in Cancer","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/gtresearchnews.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EResearch Horizons\u003C\/a\u003E, July 09 - While many biologists investigate cancer genetics - mutations in DNA sequences that cause the disease - a growing group of biologists is examining the role of cancer epigenetics, which are changes that contribute to malignancy without causing changes in DNA sequences.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYuhong Fan, an assistant professor in Georgia Tech\u0027s School of Biology, believes that the scientific field of epigenetics may help shape the future of cancer diagnosis and treatment.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Cancer cells have drastically different epigenetic patterns compared to normal cells,\u0022 explains Fan, who is also a Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Cancer Scholar. \u0022Many epigenetic changes may appear prior to the development of invasive cancer, so I think that doctors might one day be able to detect epigenetic markers for cancer before a tumor appears.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEpigenetic studies concentrate on the way the genome is marked and packaged inside a cell\u0027s nucleus. Much of Fan\u0027s research focuses on the role of H1 linker histones, a family of 10 proteins that helps to package the DNA within chromosomes.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFan and Arthur Skoultchi, chair of the Department of Cell Biology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at New York\u0027s Yeshiva University, previously observed the effects of partially reducing H1 levels in mice. The work showed that H1 histones are important to an organism\u0027s normal development. Expanding on these findings, Fan recently teamed with John McDonald, chief scientist of the Ovarian Cancer Institute and associate dean for biology development in the School of Biology, to determine if the multiple H1 subtypes are regulated differently in benign and malignant ovarian cancer tissues.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We found that some of the H1 subtypes were expressed at significantly higher levels in the cancerous tissue compared to the benign tissue and some were expressed at significantly lower levels,\u0022 notes Fan. \u0022The most remarkable finding was that these differences, whether increases or decreases, were consistent among multiple samples.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWith this knowledge, Fan\u0027s next step is to find out what genes and functions are affected by changes in expression of each subtype. To do this, her group plans to change the level of each H1 subtype in cancer cell culture and monitor what happens to cell growth and cell fate.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We hope that measuring the expression level of one or more of these H1 subtypes can be used as an epigenetic biomarker for the cancer diagnosis of the future,\u0022 adds Fan. \u0022Since the expression patterns are consistent, you could easily measure a few epigenetic characteristics, rather than looking at thousands of genes.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFunding for Fan\u0027s research is provided by the National Institutes of Health and the Georgia Cancer Coalition.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EArticle By: Abby Vogel\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nPhotos By: Gary Meek\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"Research Horizons, July 09 - While many biologists investigate cancer genetics - mutations in DNA sequences that cause the disease - a growing group of biologists is examining the role of cancer epigenetics, which are changes that contribute to malignancy without causing changes in DNA sequences.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Investigating the Role of Epigenetics in Cancer"}],"uid":"27245","created_gmt":"2009-08-13 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:11:13","author":"Troy Hilley","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2009-08-13T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2009-08-13T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"102351":{"id":"102351","type":"image","title":"Yuhong Fan :: Photo By Gary Meek","body":null,"created":"1449178174","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:29:34","changed":"1475894723","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:23"}},"media_ids":["102351"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/gtresearchnews.gatech.edu\/reshor\/rh-ws09\/cancer.pdf","title":"Research Horizon Article"},{"url":"http:\/\/gtresearchnews.gatech.edu\/","title":"Research Horizon"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/faculty\/yuhong-fan\/","title":"Yuhong Fan"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"}],"groups":[{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003ESchool of Biology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBiology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:admin@biology.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EContact School of Biology\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-3700\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["admin@biology.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}