Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 21, 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

Decoding nucleic acid modification regulatory networks: A key to cancer intervention and treatment

Qi Sun1, Yunxuan Shi2, Yadong Guo3

  • 1Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200011, China.

Physics of Life Reviews
|June 19, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Nucleic acid modifications like methylation are key regulators in cancer development and progression. Understanding these dynamic networks offers new diagnostic and therapeutic targets for precise cancer treatment.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Epigenetics
  • Oncology

Background:

  • Nucleic acid modifications are crucial regulatory mechanisms in cancer.
  • These modifications influence tumor development, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.
  • Key modifications include methylation, demethylation, N6-methyladenosine (m6A), and 5-methylcytosine (5mC).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the role of diverse chemical modifications in cancer.
  • To explore how these modifications affect genomic stability and cellular dysfunction.
  • To highlight the shift towards understanding dynamic modification networks in cancer.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of nucleic acid modifications in cancer.
  • Analysis of the impact of modifications on DNA, coding RNA, and non-coding RNA.
  • Examination of the interplay between nucleic acid modifications and processing.

Main Results:

  • Diverse nucleic acid modifications critically regulate genomic stability and cellular function in cancer.
  • The field is moving from static modification analysis to dynamic network understanding.
  • Crosstalk between modifications and processing enhances epigenetic remodeling and cancer risk.

Conclusions:

  • Elucidating modification mechanisms provides insights into cancer initiation and maintenance.
  • Nucleic acid modifications represent promising targets for precise cancer diagnostics and therapeutics.
Keywords:
CancerDNA methylationN6-methyladenosineNoncoding RNANuclear processingNucleic acid modification

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...
Epigenetic Regulation01:46

Epigenetic Regulation

Epigenetic mechanisms play an essential role in healthy development. Conversely, precisely regulated epigenetic mechanisms are disrupted in diseases like cancer.
Epigenetic Regulation01:46

Epigenetic Regulation

Epigenetic mechanisms play an essential role in healthy development. Conversely, precisely regulated epigenetic mechanisms are disrupted in diseases like cancer.
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,...
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,...
Covalently Linked Protein Regulators02:04

Covalently Linked Protein Regulators

Proteins can undergo many types of post-translational modifications, often in response to changes in their environment. These modifications play an important role in the function and stability of these proteins. Covalently linked molecules include functional groups, such as methyl, acetyl, and phosphate groups, and also small proteins, such as ubiquitin. There are around 200 different types of covalent regulators that have been identified.
These groups modify specific amino acids in a protein.