The interplay between oxidative stress and epigenetic reprogramming in cancer

Oxidative stress and epigenetic reprogramming are two crucial characteristics of cancer cells. Oxidative stress is defined as an imbalance between intracellular oxidation and antioxidation, while epigenetic modifications represent heritable alterations in gene expression without altering the DNA sequence. During the past decades, mounting evidence has suggested that oxidative stress profoundly impacts gene expression by regulating epigenetic events, including DNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNAs. In turn, epigenetic modifications can also influence oxidative stress through methylating mitochondrial DNA/RNA or regulating the expression of genes in mitochondrial electron transport chain (Mito-ETC) components and antioxidant systems. In this review, we summarize the crosstalk mechanisms between oxidative stress and epigenetic reprogramming, with an emphasis on their reciprocal regulation involved in carcinogenesis and cancer immune escape.