Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 17, 2025

Promoter Capture Hi-C: High-resolution, Genome-wide Profiling of Promoter Interactions
10:16

Promoter Capture Hi-C: High-resolution, Genome-wide Profiling of Promoter Interactions

Published on: June 28, 2018

32.5K

Super-enhancer landscape rewiring in cancer: The epigenetic control at distal sites

Eros Di Giorgio1, Roberta Benetti2, Emanuela Kerschbamer2

  • 1Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Medicine, Università degli Studi di Udine, Udine, Italy.

International Review of Cell and Molecular Biology
|September 1, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Super-enhancers, critical gene expression regulators, become dysfunctional in cancer. Their alterations drive aggressive cancer cell behavior, highlighting their role in tumorigenesis.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics
  • Cancer Biology

Background:

  • Super-enhancers are key regulatory elements controlling gene expression.
  • They integrate signaling pathways crucial for cell functions like stemness and differentiation.
  • Dysregulation of super-enhancers is implicated in various diseases, particularly cancer.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the structure and epigenetic regulation of super-enhancers.
  • To discuss the functional alterations of super-enhancers in cancer.
  • To highlight the role of super-enhancers in cancer aggressiveness.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of studies on super-enhancer structure and function.
  • Analysis of epigenetic mechanisms governing super-enhancer activity.
  • Examination of super-enhancer alterations in cancer genomics and epigenomics data.

Main Results:

  • Super-enhancers are dynamic regulatory hubs at the apex of gene expression hierarchies.
  • Epigenetic modifications are crucial for their assembly and function.
  • Aberrant super-enhancer activity is a common feature in cancer, driving oncogenic gene expression.

Conclusions:

  • Super-enhancers are critical for maintaining normal cellular functions.
  • Their dysfunction due to epigenetic alterations significantly contributes to cancer development and progression.
  • Targeting super-enhancers presents a potential therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment.

More Related Videos

Author Spotlight: An Integrated Workflow to Study the Promoter-Centric Spatio-Temporal Genome Architecture in Scarce Cell Populations11:36

Author Spotlight: An Integrated Workflow to Study the Promoter-Centric Spatio-Temporal Genome Architecture in Scarce Cell Populations

Published on: April 21, 2023

2.1K
Investigation of the Transcriptional Role of a RUNX1 Intronic Silencer by CRISPR/Cas9 Ribonucleoprotein in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells09:16

Investigation of the Transcriptional Role of a RUNX1 Intronic Silencer by CRISPR/Cas9 Ribonucleoprotein in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells

Published on: September 1, 2019

7.6K

Related Concept Videos

Epigenetic Regulation01:37

Epigenetic Regulation

Epigenetic changes alter the physical structure of the DNA without changing the genetic sequence and often regulate whether genes are turned on or off. This regulation ensures that each cell produces only proteins necessary for its function. For example, proteins that promote bone growth are not produced in muscle cells. Epigenetic mechanisms play an essential role in healthy development. Conversely, precisely regulated epigenetic mechanisms are disrupted in diseases like cancer.
X-chromosome...
3.1K
Chromatin Position Affects Gene Expression02:35

Chromatin Position Affects Gene Expression

Chromatin is the massive complex of DNA and proteins packaged inside the nucleus. The complexity of chromatin folding and how it is packaged inside the nucleus greatly influences  access to genetic information. Generally, the nucleus' periphery is considered transcriptionally repressive, while the cell's interior is considered a transcriptionally active area. 
Topologically Associated Domains (TADs)
The 3-dimensional positioning of chromatin in the nucleus influences the...
23.4K
Conservative Site-specific Recombination and Phase Variation02:53

Conservative Site-specific Recombination and Phase Variation

Because the DNA segments are cut and reorganized in a direction-specific manner, site-specific recombination has emerged as an efficient genetic engineering technique. Flippase and Cyclization recombinases or Flp and Cre, respectively, are two members of the tyrosine recombinase family derived from bacteriophages, that are used to mediate site-specific DNA insertions, deletions, and targeted expression of proteins in mammalian cell lines.
The recognition sites for Cre recombinase called LoxP...
6.0K
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells02:53

Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells

Cancer cells accumulate genetic changes at an abnormally rapid rate due to the defects in the DNA repair mechanisms. From an evolutionary perspective, such genetic instability is advantageous for cancer development. Mutant cell lines accumulate a series of beneficial mutations that contribute to their progression into cancer.
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
5.8K
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells01:06

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that divide and produce different cell types. Ordinarily, cells that have differentiated into a specific cell type are terminally differentiated; however, scientists have found a way to reprogram these mature cells so that they dedifferentiate and return to an unspecialized, proliferative state. These cells are pluripotent like embryonic stem cells—able to produce all cell types—and are called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).
Somatic...
4.2K
Spreading of Chromatin Modifications02:25

Spreading of Chromatin Modifications

The histone proteins in the nucleosomes are post-translationally modified (PTM) to increase or decrease access to DNA. The commonly observed PTMs are methylation, acetylation, phosphorylation, and ubiquitination of lysine amino acids in the histone H3 tail region. These histone modifications have specific meaning for the cell. Hence, they are called "histone code". The protein complex involved in histone modification is termed as "reader-writer" complex.
Writers
The writer...
8.3K