Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 22, 2026

Identification of Quiescent Cells in a Zebrafish T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Model Using Cell Proliferation Staining
Published on: July 19, 2024
Preferential response of cancer cells to zebularine
Jonathan C Cheng1, Christine B Yoo, Daniel J Weisenberger
1USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Departments of Urology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, 1441 Eastlake Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
Abstract:
The frequent silencing of tumor suppressor genes by altered cytosine methylation and chromatin structural changes makes this process an attractive target for epigenetic therapy. Here we show that zebularine, a stable DNA cytosine methylation inhibitor, is preferentially incorporated into DNA and exhibits greater cell growth inhibition and gene expression in cancer cell lines compared to normal fibroblasts. In addition, zebularine preferentially depleted DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) and induced expression of cancer-related antigen genes in cancer cells relative to normal fibroblasts. Our results demonstrate that zebularine can be selective toward cancer cells and may hold clinical promise as an anticancer therapy.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Targeted Cancer Therapies
There are several types of targeted therapies against specific...
Combination Therapies and Personalized Medicine
The combination of the drug acetazolamide and sulforaphane is a good example of combination therapy to treat cancer. The cells in the interior of a large tumor often die due to the hypoxic and...
Treatment Resistant Cancers
Cancer Stem Cells and Tumor Maintenance
Cancer stem cells are thought to originate from tissue-specific normal stem cells or progenitor cells. The normal stem cells usually reside in...
Mitogens and the Cell Cycle
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...

