Reprogramming cancer cells to pluripotency: an experimental tool for exploring cancer epigenetics

The epigenetic marks displayed by a cancer cell originate from two separate processes: The most prominent epigenetic signatures are associated with the cell of origin, i.e., the lineage and cell type identity imposed during development. The second set comprises those aberrant cancer-specific epigenetic marks that appear during tumor initiation or subsequent malignant progression. These are generally thought to associate with tumor-promoting pathways. As biochemical pathways regulating epigenetic mechanisms are potentially "druggable" and reversible, there is considerable interest in defining their roles in tumor genesis and growth, as they may represent therapeutic targets for treatment of human neoplasias. (1) However, despite the potential importance of epigenetic modifications in human cancer, it has been difficult to determine when, where and how epigenetic disruptions occur, and if they have important functional roles in sustaining the malignant state.