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HEREDITAS(Beijing) ›› 2014, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (5): 411-419.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1005.2014.0411

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Aberrant DNA methylation and drug resistance of tumor cells

Xinxin Si, Yujie Sun   

  1. Key Laboratory of Human Functional Genomics of Jiangsu Province, Department of Cell Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nan-jing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
  • Received:2013-10-22 Revised:2014-02-23 Online:2014-05-20 Published:2014-04-25

Abstract:

Drug resistance is one of the major obstacles limiting the success of cancer chemotherapy. The underlying mechanisms are complex. In recent years, the contribution of epigenetic changes to drug resistance has drawn increasing attention. DNA methylation is an important epigenetic modification that plays an important role in regulating gene expression and maintaining genome stability. Primary or acquired resistance of tumor cells is usually accompanied by aberrant DNA methylation. Accumulating evidence has shown that aberrant DNA methylation is involved in drug resistance of tumor cells. In this review, we briefly review the relationship between DNA methylation and drug resistance of tumor cells as well as the underlying mechanisms.

Key words: cancer drug resistance, DNA methylation, genome stability, gene expression