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Epigenetic Alterations in Oncogenesis pp 137–148Cite as

Epigenetic Regulation of miRNAs in Cancer

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Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((volume 754))

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short noncoding RNAs with gene regulatory functions. It has been demonstrated that the genes encoding for miRNAs undergo the same regulatory epigenetic processes of protein coding genes. In turn, a specific subgroup of miRNAs, called epi-miRNAs, is able to directly target key enzymatic effectors of the epigenetic machinery (such as DNA methyltransferases, histone deacetylases, and polycomb genes), therefore indirectly affecting the expression of epigenetically regulated oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Also, several of the epigenetic drugs currently approved as anticancer agents affect the expression of miRNAs and this might explain part of their mechanism of action. This chapter focuses on the tight relationship between epigenetics and miRNAs and provides some insights on the translational implications of these findings, leading to the upcoming introduction of epigenetically related miRNAs in the treatment of cancer.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology-Oncology and Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, 4650 Sunset Blvd, Mailstop #57, Los Angeles, CA, 90027, USA

    Muller Fabbri

  2. Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, 1092 Biomedical Research Tower, 460 West 12th Avenue, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    Federica Calore, Alessio Paone & Roberta Galli

  3. Department of Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    George A. Calin

Authors
  1. Muller Fabbri
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  2. Federica Calore
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  3. Alessio Paone
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  4. Roberta Galli
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  5. George A. Calin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Muller Fabbri .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Nebraska Medical Center, Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer, 985950 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, 68198, Nebraska, USA

    Adam R. Karpf

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Fabbri, M., Calore, F., Paone, A., Galli, R., Calin, G.A. (2013). Epigenetic Regulation of miRNAs in Cancer. In: Karpf, A. (eds) Epigenetic Alterations in Oncogenesis. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 754. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9967-2_6

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