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Updated: Jun 1, 2026

An Integrated Platform for Genome-wide Mapping of Chromatin States Using High-throughput ChIP-sequencing in Tumor Tissues
10:41

An Integrated Platform for Genome-wide Mapping of Chromatin States Using High-throughput ChIP-sequencing in Tumor Tissues

Published on: April 5, 2018

Chromatin modifying agents - the cutting edge of anticancer therapy

Faith A A Kwa1, Aneta Balcerczyk, Paul Licciardi

  • 1Epigenomic Medicine Laboratory, Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Research Institute, 75 Commercial Road, Melbourne 3004, Australia. faith.kwa@bakeridi.edu.au

Drug Discovery Today
|June 14, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Chromatin modifying compounds offer a new approach to cancer treatment by altering gene expression to control cell growth and death. Future research using massive parallel sequencing aims to discover new epigenetic targets for drug development.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Epigenetics
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Cancer is characterized by uncontrolled proliferation and aberrant apoptosis.
  • Gene expression modulation is key to correcting these malignant cell hallmarks.
  • Chromatin remodeling, including DNA methylation and histone acetylation, regulates gene expression.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the potential of chromatin modifying compounds as next-generation anticancer therapies.
  • To highlight the role of epigenetic modifications in cancer development and therapeutic strategies.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current understanding of chromatin modification in cancer.
  • Discussion of existing chromatin modifying agents like DNA methyltransferase and histone deacetylase inhibitors.
  • Anticipation of massive parallel sequencing for identifying new epigenetic targets.

Main Results:

  • Chromatin modifying compounds can alter gene expression to correct cancer hallmarks.
  • Aberrant DNA methylation and histone acetylation in cancer cells support novel epigenetic therapies.
  • Current agents reactivate tumor suppressor genes, inhibit proliferation, and induce apoptosis.

Conclusions:

  • Chromatin modifying compounds represent a promising new frontier in cancer therapy.
  • Epigenetic modifications are crucial targets for developing effective anticancer treatments.
  • Massive parallel sequencing is expected to accelerate the discovery of new epigenetic drug targets.

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