1 2334 113 EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE-INDUCED EPITHELIAL-TO-MESENCHYMAL CELL TRANSITION AND CANCER STEM CELL GENERATION. THE NEOPLASTIC TRANSFORMATION OF NORMAL TO METASTATIC CANCER CELLS IS A COMPLEX MULTISTEP PROCESS INVOLVING THE PROGRESSIVE ACCUMULATION OF INTERACTING GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES THAT ALTER GENE FUNCTION AND AFFECT CELL PHYSIOLOGY AND HOMEOSTASIS. EPIGENETIC CHANGES INCLUDING DNA METHYLATION, HISTONE MODIFICATIONS AND CHANGES IN NONCODING RNA EXPRESSION, AND DEREGULATION OF EPIGENETIC PROCESSES CAN ALTER GENE EXPRESSION DURING THE MULTISTEP PROCESS OF CARCINOGENESIS. CANCER PROGRESSION AND METASTASIS THROUGH AN 'INVASION-METASTASIS CASCADE' INVOLVING AN EPITHELIAL-TO-MESENCHYMAL CELL TRANSITION (EMT), THE GENERATION OF CANCER STEM CELLS (CSCS), INVASION OF ADJACENT TISSUES, AND DISSEMINATION ARE FUELED BY INFLAMMATION, WHICH IS CONSIDERED A HALLMARK OF CANCER. CHRONIC INFLAMMATION IS GENERATED BY INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES SECRETED BY THE TUMOR AND THE TUMOR-ASSOCIATED CELLS WITHIN THE TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT. INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE SIGNALING INITIATES SIGNALING PATHWAYS LEADING TO THE ACTIVATION OF MASTER TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS (TFS) SUCH AS SMADS, STAT3, AND NF-KAPPAB. MOREOVER, THE SAME INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES ALSO ACTIVATE EMT-INDUCING TF (EMT-TF) FAMILIES SUCH AS SNAIL, TWIST, AND ZEB, AND EPIGENETIC REGULATORS INCLUDING DNA AND HISTONE MODIFYING ENZYMES AND MICORNAS, THROUGH COMPLEX INTERCONNECTED POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE FEEDBACK LOOPS TO REGULATE EMT AND CSC GENERATION. HERE, WE REVIEW THE MOLECULAR REGULATORY FEEDBACK LOOPS AND NETWORKS INVOLVED IN INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE-INDUCED EMT AND CSC GENERATION. 2019 2 3950 29 LNFLAMMATION-INDUCED EPIGENETIC SWITCHES IN CANCER. THE LINK BETWEEN INFLAMMATION AND CANCER IS WELL ESTABLISHED. CHRONIC INFLAMMATION PROMOTES CANCER INITIATION AND PROGRESSION. VARIOUS STUDIES SHOWED THAT THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS INVOLVE EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS. THESE EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS MIGHT CULMINATE INTO AN EPIGENETIC SWITCH THAT TRANSFORMS PREMALIGNANT CELLS INTO TUMOR CELLS OR NON-INVASIVE INTO INVASIVE TUMOR CELLS, THEREBY PROMOTING METASTASIS. EPIGENETIC SWITCHES REQUIRE AN INITIATING EVENT, WHICH CAN BE INFLAMMATION, WHEREAS THE RESULTING PHENOTYPE IS INHERITED WITHOUT THE INITIATING SIGNAL. EPIGENETIC SWITCHES ARE INDUCED AND MAINTAINED BY DNA METHYLATION, HISTONE MODIFICATIONS, POLYCOMB GROUP (PCG)/TRITHORAX GROUP (TRXG) PROTEINS, AND FEEDBACK LOOPS CONSISTING OF TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS AND MICRORNAS. SINCE EPIGENETIC SWITCHES ARE REVERSIBLE, THEY MIGHT REPRESENT AN IMPORTANT BASIS FOR THE DESIGN OF NOVEL ANTICANCER THERAPEUTICS. THIS REVIEW SUMMARIZES PUBLISHED EVIDENCE OF EPIGENETIC SWITCHES IN CANCER DEVELOPMENT THAT ARE INDUCED BY INFLAMMATION. 2016 3 6906 31 [THE ROLE OF GLYCANS IN CANCER DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESSION. CLINICAL APPLICATIONS]. CHANGES IN GLYCOSYLATION PATTERN OF CELL SURFACE, BODY FLUIDS AND EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX GLYCOCONJUGATES IS A CHARACTERISTIC FEATURE OF TUMOR CELL MALIGNANCY. THESE CHANGES ARE THE RESULT OF MUTATIONS OF TUMOR-ASSOCIATED GENES AS WELL AS EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN THE TUMOR ENVIRONMENT, INCLUDING NUTRIENT INFLUX, HYPOXIA, CYTOKINE EXPRESSION AND STIMULATION OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION. THE UNIQUE SET OF CELL SURFACE GLYCOANTIGENS ON NEOPLASTIC CELLS IS RECOGNIZED BY ENDOGENOUS LECTINS LOCATED IN THE EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX, VASCULAR ENDOTHELIUM, ON LEUKOCYTES OR PLATELETS, AND HAS AN IMPACT ON DISRUPTING BASIC CELLULAR PROCESSES, SUCH AS INTERCELLULAR RECOGNITION, CELL-CELL ADHESION OR CELL-ECM INTERACTION. THESE CHANGES HAVE A CRITICAL IMPACT ON THE MIGRATION, INVASIVE AND METASTATIC POTENTIAL OF NEOPLASTIC CELLS AND MODULATE THE IMMUNE RESPONSE. THIS UNIQUE PATTERN OF SUGAR ANTIGENS ON THE CANCER CELLS CAN BE A VAULABLE MARKER TO IDENTIFY THEM, DETERMINE THE STAGE OF THE DISEASE AS WELL AS BE A TARGET OF ANTI-CANCER THERAPY. 2021 4 2338 43 EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF INFLAMMATORY SIGNALING AND INFLAMMATION-INDUCED CANCER. EPIGENETICS COMPRISE A DIVERSE ARRAY OF REVERSIBLE AND DYNAMIC MODIFICATIONS TO THE CELL'S GENOME WITHOUT IMPLICATING ANY DNA SEQUENCE ALTERATIONS. BOTH THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT SURROUNDING THE ORGANISM, AS WELL AS THE INTERNAL MICROENVIRONMENT OF CELLS AND TISSUES, CONTRIBUTE TO THESE EPIGENETIC PROCESSES THAT PLAY CRITICAL ROLES IN CELL FATE SPECIFICATION AND ORGANISMAL DEVELOPMENT. ON THE OTHER HAND, DYSREGULATION OF EPIGENETIC ACTIVITIES CAN INITIATE AND SUSTAIN CARCINOGENESIS, WHICH IS OFTEN AUGMENTED BY INFLAMMATION. CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, ONE OF THE MAJOR HALLMARKS OF CANCER, STEMS FROM PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES THAT ARE SECRETED BY TUMOR AND TUMOR-ASSOCIATED CELLS IN THE TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT. AT THE SAME TIME, INFLAMMATORY SIGNALING CAN ESTABLISH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE FEEDBACK CIRCUITS WITH CHROMATIN TO MODULATE CHANGES IN THE GLOBAL EPIGENETIC LANDSCAPE. IN THIS REVIEW, WE PROVIDE AN IN-DEPTH DISCUSSION OF THE INTERCONNECTED CROSSTALK BETWEEN EPIGENETICS AND INFLAMMATION, SPECIFICALLY HOW EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS AT DIFFERENT HIERARCHICAL LEVELS OF THE GENOME CONTROL INFLAMMATORY GENE TRANSCRIPTION, WHICH IN TURN ENACT CHANGES WITHIN THE CELL'S EPIGENOMIC PROFILE, ESPECIALLY IN THE CONTEXT OF INFLAMMATION-INDUCED CANCER. 2022 5 1232 42 CROSSTALK BETWEEN INFLAMMATORY SIGNALING AND METHYLATION IN CANCER. INFLAMMATION IS AN INTRICATE IMMUNE RESPONSE AGAINST INFECTION AND TISSUE DAMAGE. WHILE THE INITIAL IMMUNE RESPONSE IS IMPORTANT FOR PREVENTING TUMORIGENESIS, CHRONIC INFLAMMATION IS IMPLICATED IN CANCER PATHOGENESIS. IT HAS BEEN LINKED TO VARIOUS STAGES OF TUMOR DEVELOPMENT INCLUDING TRANSFORMATION, PROLIFERATION, ANGIOGENESIS, AND METASTASIS. IMMUNE CELLS, THROUGH THE PRODUCTION OF INFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS SUCH AS CYTOKINES, CHEMOKINES, TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTORS, AND ADHESION MOLECULES CONTRIBUTE TO THE SURVIVAL, GROWTH, AND PROGRESSION OF THE TUMOR IN ITS MICROENVIRONMENT. THE ABERRANT EXPRESSION AND SECRETION OF PRO-INFLAMMATORY AND GROWTH FACTORS BY THE TUMOR CELLS RESULT IN THE RECRUITMENT OF IMMUNE CELLS, THUS CREATING A MUTUAL CROSSTALK. THE RECIPROCAL SIGNALING BETWEEN THE TUMOR CELLS AND THE IMMUNE CELLS CREATES AND MAINTAINS A SUCCESSFUL TUMOR NICHE. MANY INFLAMMATORY FACTORS ARE REGULATED BY EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS INCLUDING DNA METHYLATION AND HISTONE MODIFICATIONS. IN PARTICULAR, DNA AND HISTONE METHYLATION ARE CRUCIAL FORMS OF TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION AND ABERRANT METHYLATION HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH DEREGULATED GENE EXPRESSION IN ONCOGENESIS. SUCH DEREGULATIONS HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN BOTH SOLID TUMORS AND HEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES. WITH TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS TO STUDY GENOME-WIDE EPIGENETIC LANDSCAPES, IT IS NOW POSSIBLE TO IDENTIFY MOLECULAR MECHANISMS UNDERLYING ALTERED INFLAMMATORY PROFILES IN CANCER. IN THIS REVIEW, WE DISCUSS THE ROLE OF DNA AND HISTONE METHYLATION IN REGULATION OF INFLAMMATORY PATHWAYS IN HUMAN CANCERS AND REVIEW THE MERITS AND CHALLENGES OF TARGETING INFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS AS WELL AS EPIGENETIC REGULATORS IN CANCER. 2021 6 6309 33 THE REGULATION OF MIRNAS IN INFLAMMATION-RELATED CARCINOGENESIS. CHRONIC INFLAMMATION PLAYS IMPORTANT ROLES IN THE INITIATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF VARIOUS CANCERS, PARTICULARLY GASTROINTESTINAL CANCER. CANCER IS CHARACTERIZED BY STEPWISE ACCUMULATION OF GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS OF GENES. AS A HIGH RISK FACTOR FOR CANCER, CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE PRODUCES GREAT AMOUNT OF MEDIATORS, INCLUDING CYTOKINES, REACTIVE OXYGEN AND NITROGEN SPECIES, PROTEINASES, WHICH CAN INDUCE GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES OF CANCER-ASSOCIATED GENES AND PATHWAYS. FURTHERMORE, INFLAMMATION ALSO MODULATES THE EXPRESSION OF MIRNAS THAT NOT ONLY REGULATE THE EXPRESSION OF TUMOR-RELATED PROTEINS BUT ALSO ENHANCE THE TUMOR-PROMOTING INFLAMMATORY PROCESS. IN THE CURRENT REVIEW, WE SUMMARIZE THE MECHANISMS BY WHICH INFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS AND SIGNALING REGULATE THE BIOSYNTHESIS OF MIRNAS, AS WELL AS THE INVOLVEMENT OF MIRNAS IN THE FEEDBACK LOOPS PROMOTING INFLAMMATION-ASSOCIATED CARCINOGENESIS. 2015 7 5491 33 REVIEW ARTICLE: INFLAMMATION-RELATED PROMOTION OF GASTROINTESTINAL CARCINOGENESIS--A PERIGENETIC PATHWAY. CHRONIC INFLAMMATION HAS BEEN REPORTED TO ACCELERATE NEOPLASMAS IN GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT. CERTAIN BACTERIA INCLUDING HELICOBACTER PYLORI DIRECTLY INTERACT WITH HOST CELLS, INDUCE PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES AND STIMULATE PRODUCTION OF FREE RADICALS. FREE RADICALS CAUSE MUTATIONS IN TARGET CELLS SO THAT NEOPLASTIC CLONES ARE ESTABLISHED. ACCUMULATION OF SUCH GENETIC ALTERATIONS MAY CAUSE MALIGNANT TRANSFORMATION OF SOME ESTABLISHED CLONES. IN ADDITION, INFLAMMATORY ALTERATIONS MAY PROMOTE GROWTH, EXPANSION AND INVASION OF GASTROINTESTINAL EPITHELIAL CELLS. THE LATTER CHANGES CAUSED BY INFLAMMATION MAY OCCUR EVEN WITHOUT FURTHER GENETIC MUTATIONS OR EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS, AND THEREFORE MAY BE CATEGORIZED AS 'PERIGENETIC ALTERATIONS' OF NEOPLASTIC CELLS. FOR AN EXAMPLE, TUMOUR NECROSIS FACTOR ALPHA (TNF-ALPHA) PLAYS PIVOTAL ROLES NOT ONLY IN THE REDUCTION BUT ALSO IN THE GROWTH, INVASION AND METASTASES OF CERTAIN NEOPLASMAS. OUR STUDIES SHOW THAT TNF-ALPHA INCREASES INTRACELLULAR RADICAL PRODUCTION, DEGRADATES E-CADHERIN / BETA-CATENIN COMPLEX AND PROMOTES DISPERSION AND MIGRATION IN EPITHELIAL CELLS TRANSFORMED WITH AN ACTIVATED SRC ONCOGENE (V-SRC). THESE DATA INDICATE THAT AN INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE INDUCES THE MALIGNANT POTENTIAL OF SRC-ACTIVATED NEOPLASTIC CELLS. INTERESTINGLY, TNF-ALPHA ALSO INDUCED THESE PHENOTYPIC CHANGES IN NONMUTATED CELLS WHOSE C-SRC WAS ACTIVATED BY TGF-ALPHA, SUGGESTING THAT THE INVASIVE PROPERTIES OF THE CELL WERE NOT NECESSARILY RELATED TO GENE MUTATION. FURTHERMORE, CERTAIN RADICAL SCAVENGERS SUPPRESSED THE INVASIVE PHENOTYPE OF THE CELLS. THESE RESULTS INDICATE THAT PERIGENETIC ALTERATIONS ARE AN IMPORTANT TARGET OF PHARMACOLOGICAL INTERVENTION OF CARCINOGENESIS. 2003 8 5554 43 ROLE OF EPIGENETICS IN TRANSFORMATION OF INFLAMMATION INTO COLORECTAL CANCER. MOLECULAR MECHANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH INFLAMMATION-PROMOTED TUMORIGENESIS HAVE BECOME AN IMPORTANT TOPIC IN CANCER RESEARCH. VARIOUS ABNORMAL EPIGENETIC CHANGES, INCLUDING DNA METHYLATION, HISTONE MODIFICATION, CHROMATIN REMODELING, AND NONCODING RNA REGULATION, OCCUR DURING THE TRANSFORMATION OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION INTO COLORECTAL CANCER (CRC). THESE CHANGES NOT ONLY ACCELERATE TRANSFORMATION BUT ALSO LEAD TO CANCER PROGRESSION AND METASTASIS BY ACTIVATING CARCINOGENIC SIGNALING PATHWAYS. THE NF-KAPPAB AND STAT3 SIGNALING PATHWAYS PLAY A PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF INFLAMMATION INTO CRC, AND BOTH ARE CRITICAL TO CELLULAR SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION AND CONSTANTLY ACTIVATED IN CANCER BY VARIOUS ABNORMAL CHANGES INCLUDING EPIGENETICS. THE NF-KAPPAB AND STAT3 SIGNALS CONTRIBUTE TO THE MICROENVIRONMENT FOR TUMORIGENESIS THROUGH SECRETION OF A LARGE NUMBER OF PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES AND THEIR CROSSTALK IN THE NUCLEUS MAKES IT EVEN MORE DIFFICULT TO TREAT CRC. COMPARED WITH GENE MUTATION THAT IS IRREVERSIBLE, EPIGENETIC INHERITANCE IS REVERSIBLE OR CAN BE ALTERED BY THE INTERVENTION. THEREFORE, UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF EPIGENETIC INHERITANCE IN THE INFLAMMATION-CANCER TRANSFORMATION MAY ELUCIDATE THE PATHOGENESIS OF CRC AND PROMOTE THE DEVELOPMENT OF INNOVATIVE DRUGS TARGETING TRANSFORMATION TO PREVENT AND TREAT THIS MALIGNANCY. THIS REVIEW SUMMARIZES THE LITERATURE ON THE ROLES OF EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS IN THE OCCURRENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF INFLAMMATION-INDUCED CRC. EXPLORING THE ROLE OF EPIGENETICS IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF INFLAMMATION INTO CRC MAY HELP STIMULATE FUTURES STUDIES ON THE ROLE OF MOLECULAR THERAPY IN CRC. 2019 9 1864 37 EMERGING AVENUES LINKING INFLAMMATION AND CANCER. THE ROLE OF INFLAMMATION IN CARCINOGENESIS HAS BEEN EXTENSIVELY INVESTIGATED AND WELL DOCUMENTED. MANY BIOCHEMICAL PROCESSES THAT ARE ALTERED DURING CHRONIC INFLAMMATION HAVE BEEN IMPLICATED IN TUMORIGENESIS. THESE INCLUDE SHIFTING CELLULAR REDOX BALANCE TOWARD OXIDATIVE STRESS; INDUCTION OF GENOMIC INSTABILITY; INCREASED DNA DAMAGE; STIMULATION OF CELL PROLIFERATION, METASTASIS, AND ANGIOGENESIS; DEREGULATION OF CELLULAR EPIGENETIC CONTROL OF GENE EXPRESSION; AND INAPPROPRIATE EPITHELIAL-TO-MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION. A WIDE ARRAY OF PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES, PROSTAGLANDINS, NITRIC OXIDE, AND MATRICELLULAR PROTEINS ARE CLOSELY INVOLVED IN PREMALIGNANT AND MALIGNANT CONVERSION OF CELLS IN A BACKGROUND OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION. INAPPROPRIATE TRANSCRIPTION OF GENES ENCODING INFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS, SURVIVAL FACTORS, AND ANGIOGENIC AND METASTATIC PROTEINS IS THE KEY MOLECULAR EVENT IN LINKING INFLAMMATION AND CANCER. ABERRANT CELL SIGNALING PATHWAYS COMPRISING VARIOUS KINASES AND THEIR DOWNSTREAM TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS THE MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS IN ABNORMAL GENE EXPRESSION ASSOCIATED WITH INFLAMMATION-DRIVEN CARCINOGENESIS. THE POSTTRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION BY MICRORNAS ALSO PROVIDES THE MOLECULAR BASIS FOR LINKING INFLAMMATION TO CANCER. THIS REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS THE MULTIFACETED ROLE OF INFLAMMATION IN CARCINOGENESIS IN THE CONTEXT OF ALTERED CELLULAR REDOX SIGNALING. 2012 10 3799 36 INTERPLAY BETWEEN INFLAMMATION AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN CANCER. IMMUNE RESPONSES CAN SUPPRESS TUMORIGENESIS, BUT ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO CANCER INITIATION AND PROGRESSION SUGGESTING A COMPLEX INTERACTION BETWEEN THE IMMUNE SYSTEM AND CANCER. EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS, WHICH ARE HERITABLE CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION WITHOUT CHANGES TO THE DNA SEQUENCE, ALSO PLAY A ROLE IN CARCINOGENESIS THROUGH SILENCING EXPRESSION OF TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENES AND ACTIVATING ONCOGENIC SIGNALING. INTERESTINGLY, EPITHELIAL CELLS AT SITES OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION UNDERGO DNA METHYLATION ALTERATIONS THAT ARE SIMILAR TO THOSE PRESENT IN CANCER CELLS, SUGGESTING THAT INFLAMMATION MAY INITIATE CANCER-SPECIFIC EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN EPITHELIAL CELLS. FURTHERMORE, EPIGENETIC CHANGES OCCUR DURING IMMUNE CELL DIFFERENTIATION AND PARTICIPATE IN REGULATING THE IMMUNE RESPONSE, INCLUDING THE REGULATION OF INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES. CANCER CELLS UTILIZE EPIGENETIC SILENCING OF IMMUNE-RELATED GENES TO EVADE THE IMMUNE RESPONSE. THIS CHAPTER WILL DETAIL THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN INFLAMMATION AND EPIGENETICS IN TUMOR INITIATION, PROMOTION, AND IMMUNE EVASION AND HOW THESE CONNECTIONS ARE BEING LEVERAGED IN CANCER PREVENTION AND TREATMENT. 2016 11 6395 45 THE ROLE OF THE MEDIATORS OF INFLAMMATION IN CANCER DEVELOPMENT. EPIGENETIC DISORDERS SUCH AS POINT MUTATIONS IN CELLULAR TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENES, DNA METHYLATION AND POST-TRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATIONS ARE NEEDED TO TRANSFORMATION OF NORMAL CELLS INTO CANCER CELLS. THESE EVENTS RESULT IN ALTERATIONS IN CRITICAL PATHWAYS RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING THE NORMAL CELLULAR HOMEOSTASIS, TRIGGERING TO AN INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE WHICH CAN LEAD THE DEVELOPMENT OF CANCER. THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE IS A UNIVERSAL DEFENSE MECHANISM ACTIVATED IN RESPONSE TO AN INJURY TISSUE, OF ANY NATURE, THAT INVOLVES BOTH INNATE AND ADAPTIVE IMMUNE RESPONSES, THROUGH THE COLLECTIVE ACTION OF A VARIETY OF SOLUBLE MEDIATORS. MANY INFLAMMATORY SIGNALING PATHWAYS ARE ACTIVATED IN SEVERAL TYPES OF CANCER, LINKING CHRONIC INFLAMMATION TO TUMORIGENESIS PROCESS. THUS, INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES PLAY DECISIVE ROLES AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF TUMOR DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING INITIATION, PROMOTION, GROWTH, INVASION, AND METASTASIS, AFFECTING ALSO THE IMMUNE SURVEILLANCE. IMMUNE CELLS THAT INFILTRATE TUMORS ENGAGE IN AN EXTENSIVE AND DYNAMIC CROSSTALK WITH CANCER CELLS, AND SOME OF THE MOLECULAR EVENTS THAT MEDIATE THIS DIALOG HAVE BEEN REVEALED. A RANGE OF INFLAMMATION MEDIATORS, INCLUDING CYTOKINES, CHEMOKINES, FREE RADICALS, PROSTAGLANDINS, GROWTH AND TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS, MICRORNAS, AND ENZYMES AS, CYCLOOXYGENASE AND MATRIX METALLOPROTEINASE, COLLECTIVELY ACTS TO CREATE A FAVORABLE MICROENVIRONMENT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF TUMORS. IN THIS REVIEW ARE PRESENTED THE MAIN MEDIATORS OF THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE AND DISCUSSED THE LIKELY MECHANISMS THROUGH WHICH, THEY INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER TO CREATE A CONDITION FAVORABLE TO DEVELOPMENT OF CANCER. 2015 12 2225 38 EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS IN TUMOR-ASSOCIATED MACROPHAGES: A NEW PERSPECTIVE FOR AN OLD FOE. TUMORIGENESIS IS FREQUENTLY ACCOMPANIED BY CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, AND THE TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT (TME) CAN BE CONSIDERED AN ECOSYSTEM THAT CONSISTS OF TUMOR CELLS, ENDOTHELIOCYTES, FIBROBLASTS, IMMUNE CELLS AND ACELLULAR COMPONENTS SUCH AS EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX. FOR TUMOR CELLS, THEIR SURVIVAL ADVANTAGES ARE DEPENDENT ON BOTH GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS, WHILE OTHER CELLS MAINLY PRESENT EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS. MACROPHAGES ARE THE MOST PLASTIC TYPE OF IMMUNE CELLS AND UNDERGO DIVERSE EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS IN THE TME. SOME OF THESE EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS MITIGATE AGAINST CANCER PROGRESSION, AND OTHERS ACCELERATE THIS PROCESS. DUE TO THE COMPLEX ROLES OF MACROPHAGES IN THE TME, IT IS URGENT TO UNDERSTAND THEIR EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE TME. HERE, WE MAINLY SUMMARIZE RECENT FINDINGS ON TME-ASSOCIATED EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS OF TUMOR-ASSOCIATED MACROPHAGES (TAMS), INCLUDING DNA METHYLATION, POSTTRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATIONS OF HISTONE PROTEINS, CHROMATIN REMODELING, AND NONCODING RNA-MEDIATED EPIGENETIC REGULATION. AT THE END OF THIS REVIEW, WE ALSO DISCUSS THE TRANSLATIONAL POTENTIAL OF THESE EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS FOR DEVELOPING NOVEL CANCER THERAPIES TARGETING TAMS. 2022 13 4558 31 MUTATIONS IN THE NF-KAPPAB SIGNALING PATHWAY: IMPLICATIONS FOR HUMAN DISEASE. THE NUCLEAR FACTOR-KAPPA B (NF-KAPPAB) SIGNALING PATHWAY IS A MULTI-COMPONENT PATHWAY THAT REGULATES THE EXPRESSION OF HUNDREDS OF GENES THAT ARE INVOLVED IN DIVERSE AND KEY CELLULAR AND ORGANISMAL PROCESSES, INCLUDING CELL PROLIFERATION, CELL SURVIVAL, THE CELLULAR STRESS RESPONSE, INNATE IMMUNITY AND INFLAMMATION. NOT SURPRISINGLY, MIS-REGULATION OF THE NF-KAPPAB PATHWAY, EITHER BY MUTATION OR EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS, IS INVOLVED IN MANY HUMAN AND ANIMAL DISEASES, ESPECIALLY ONES ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, IMMUNODEFICIENCY OR CANCER. THIS REVIEW DESCRIBES HUMAN DISEASES IN WHICH MUTATIONS IN THE COMPONENTS OF THE CORE NF-KAPPAB SIGNALING PATHWAY HAVE BEEN IMPLICATED AND DISCUSSES THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS BY WHICH THESE ALTERATIONS IN NF-KAPPAB SIGNALING ARE LIKELY TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE DISEASE PATHOLOGY. THESE MUTATIONS CAN BE GERMLINE OR SOMATIC AND INCLUDE GENE AMPLIFICATION (E.G., REL), POINT MUTATIONS AND DELETIONS (REL, NFKB2, IKBA, CYLD, NEMO) AND CHROMOSOMAL TRANSLOCATIONS (BCL-3). IN ADDITION, HUMAN GENETIC DISEASES ARE BRIEFLY DESCRIBED WHEREIN MUTATIONS AFFECT PROTEIN MODIFIERS OR TRANSDUCERS OF NF-KAPPAB SIGNALING OR DISRUPT NF-KAPPAB-BINDING SITES IN PROMOTERS/ENHANCERS. 2006 14 4539 32 MULTISTAGE CARCINOGENESIS IN MOUSE SKIN. THE MOUSE SKIN MODEL OF MULTISTAGE CARCINOGENESIS HAS FOR MANY YEARS PROVIDED A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR STUDYING CARCINOGENESIS MECHANISMS AND POTENTIAL MEANS FOR INHIBITING SPECIFIC STAGES OF CARCINOGENESIS. THE PROCESS OF SKIN CARCINOGENESIS INVOLVES THE STEPWISE ACCUMULATION OF GENETIC CHANGE ULTIMATELY LEADING TO MALIGNANCY. INITIATION, THE FIRST STEP IN MULTISTAGE SKIN CARCINOGENESIS INVOLVES CARCINOGEN-INDUCED GENETIC CHANGES. A TARGET GENE IDENTIFIED FOR SOME SKIN TUMOR INITIATORS IS C-HA-RAS. THE SECOND STEP, THE PROMOTION STAGE, INVOLVES PROCESSES WHEREBY INITIATED CELLS UNDERGO SELECTIVE CLONAL EXPANSION TO FORM VISIBLE PREMALIGNANT LESIONS TERMED PAPILLOMAS. THE PROCESS OF TUMOR PROMOTION INVOLVES THE PRODUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF A SPECIFIC AND CHRONIC HYPERPLASIA CHARACTERIZED BY A SUSTAINED CELLULAR PROLIFERATION OF EPIDERMAL CELLS. THESE CHANGES ARE BELIEVED TO RESULT FROM EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS SUCH AS ACTIVATION OF THE CELLULAR RECEPTOR, PROTEIN KINASE C, BY SOME CLASSES OF TUMOR PROMOTERS. THE PROGRESSION STAGE INVOLVES THE CONVERSION OF PAPILLOMAS TO MALIGNANT TUMORS, SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMAS. THE ACCUMULATION OF ADDITIONAL GENETIC CHANGES IN CELLS COMPRISING PAPILLOMAS HAS BEEN CORRELATED WITH TUMOR PROGRESSION, INCLUDING TRISOMIES OF CHROMOSOMES 6 AND 7 AND LOSS OF HETEROZYGOSITY. THE CURRENT REVIEW FOCUSES ON THE MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN MULTISTAGE SKIN CARCINOGENESIS, A SUMMARY OF KNOWN INHIBITORS OF SPECIFIC STAGES AND THEIR PROPOSED MECHANISMS OF ACTION, AND THE RELEVANCE OF THIS MODEL SYSTEM TO HUMAN CANCER. 1992 15 5889 32 SYSTEMS APPROACHES TO MODELING CHRONIC MUCOSAL INFLAMMATION. THE RESPIRATORY MUCOSA IS A MAJOR COORDINATOR OF THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE IN CHRONIC AIRWAY DISEASES, INCLUDING ASTHMA AND CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD). SIGNALS PRODUCED BY THE CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY PROCESS INDUCE EPITHELIAL MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION (EMT) THAT DRAMATICALLY ALTERS THE EPITHELIAL CELL PHENOTYPE. THE EFFECTS OF EMT ON EPIGENETIC REPROGRAMMING AND THE ACTIVATION OF TRANSCRIPTIONAL NETWORKS ARE KNOWN, ITS EFFECTS ON THE INNATE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE ARE UNDEREXPLORED. WE USED A MULTIPLEX GENE EXPRESSION PROFILING PLATFORM TO INVESTIGATE THE PERTURBATIONS OF THE INNATE PATHWAYS INDUCED BY TGF BETA IN A PRIMARY AIRWAY EPITHELIAL CELL MODEL OF EMT. EMT HAD DRAMATIC EFFECTS ON THE INDUCTION OF THE INNATE PATHWAY AND THE COUPLING INTERVAL OF THE CANONICAL AND NONCANONICAL NF- KAPPA B PATHWAYS. SIMULATION EXPERIMENTS DEMONSTRATE THAT RAPID, COORDINATED CAP-INDEPENDENT TRANSLATION OF TRAF-1 AND NF- KAPPA B2 IS REQUIRED TO REDUCE THE NONCANONICAL PATHWAY COUPLING INTERVAL. EXPERIMENTS USING AMANTADINE CONFIRMED THE PREDICTION THAT TRAF-1 AND NF- KAPPA B2/P100 PRODUCTION IS MEDIATED BY AN IRES-DEPENDENT MECHANISM. THESE DATA INDICATE THAT THE EPIGENETIC CHANGES PRODUCED BY EMT INDUCE DYNAMIC STATE CHANGES OF THE INNATE SIGNALING PATHWAY. FURTHER APPLICATIONS OF SYSTEMS APPROACHES WILL PROVIDE UNDERSTANDING OF THIS COMPLEX PHENOTYPE THROUGH DETERMINISTIC MODELING AND MULTIDIMENSIONAL (GENOMIC AND PROTEOMIC) PROFILING. 2013 16 2854 42 FROM HEPATITIS TO HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA: A PROPOSED MODEL FOR CROSS-TALK BETWEEN INFLAMMATION AND EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. INFLAMMATION REPRESENTS THE BODY'S NATURAL RESPONSE TO TISSUE DAMAGE; HOWEVER, CHRONIC INFLAMMATION MAY ACTIVATE CELL PROLIFERATION AND INDUCE DEREGULATION OF CELL DEATH IN AFFECTED TISSUES. CHRONIC INFLAMMATION IS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA (HCC), ALTHOUGH THE PRECISE UNDERLYING MECHANISM REMAINS UNKNOWN. EPIGENETIC EVENTS, WHICH ARE CONSIDERED KEY MECHANISMS IN THE REGULATION OF GENE ACTIVITY STATES, ARE ALSO COMMONLY DEREGULATED IN HCC. HERE, WE REVIEW THE EVIDENCE THAT CHRONIC INFLAMMATION MIGHT DEREGULATE EPIGENETIC PROCESSES, THUS PROMOTING ONCOGENIC TRANSFORMATION, AND WE PROPOSE A WORKING HYPOTHESIS THAT EPIGENETIC DEREGULATION IS AN UNDERLYING MECHANISM BY WHICH INFLAMMATION MIGHT PROMOTE HCC DEVELOPMENT. IN THIS SCENARIO, DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE MIGHT DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY INDUCE CHANGES IN EPIGENETIC MACHINERIES ('EPIGENETIC SWITCH'), INCLUDING THOSE INVOLVED IN SETTING AND PROPAGATING NORMAL PATTERNS OF DNA METHYLATION, HISTONE MODIFICATIONS AND NON-CODING RNAS IN HEPATOCYTES. WE DISCUSS THE POSSIBILITY THAT SELF-REINFORCING CROSS-TALK BETWEEN INFLAMMATION AND EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS MIGHT AMPLIFY INFLAMMATORY SIGNALS AND MAINTAIN A CHRONIC STATE OF INFLAMMATION CULMINATING IN CANCER DEVELOPMENT. THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF INFLAMMATION-EPIGENOME INTERACTIONS IN THE EMERGENCE AND MAINTENANCE OF CANCER STEM CELLS IS ALSO DISCUSSED. 2012 17 95 30 A POSSIBLE ROLE FOR EPIGENETIC FEEDBACK REGULATION IN THE DYNAMICS OF THE EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION (EMT). THE EPITHELIAL-MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION (EMT) OFTEN PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE IN CANCER METASTASIS AND CHEMORESISTANCE, AND DECODING ITS DYNAMICS IS CRUCIAL TO DESIGN EFFECTIVE THERAPEUTICS. EMT IS REGULATED AT MULTIPLE LEVELS-TRANSCRIPTIONAL, TRANSLATIONAL, PROTEIN STABILITY AND EPIGENETICS; THE MECHANISMS BY WHICH EPIGENETIC REGULATION CAN ALTER THE DYNAMICS OF EMT REMAIN ELUSIVE. HERE, TO IDENTIFY THE POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF EPIGENETIC REGULATION IN EMT, WE INCORPORATE A FEEDBACK TERM IN OUR PREVIOUSLY PROPOSED MODEL OF EMT REGULATION OF THE MIR-200/ZEB/MIR-34/SNAIL CIRCUIT. THIS EPIGENETIC FEEDBACK THAT STABILIZES LONG-TERM TRANSCRIPTIONAL ACTIVITY CAN ALTER THE RELATIVE STABILITY AND DISTRIBUTION OF STATES IN A GIVEN CELL POPULATION, PARTICULARLY WHEN INCORPORATED IN THE INHIBITORY EFFECT ON MIR-200 FROM ZEB. THIS FEEDBACK CAN STABILIZE THE MESENCHYMAL STATE, THUS MAKING TRANSITIONS OUT OF THAT STATE DIFFICULT. CONVERSELY, EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF THE SELF-ACTIVATION OF ZEB HAS ONLY MINOR EFFECTS. OUR MODEL PREDICTS THAT THIS EFFECT COULD BE SEEN IN EXPERIMENTS, WHEN EPITHELIAL CELLS ARE TREATED WITH AN EXTERNAL EMT-INDUCING SIGNAL FOR A SUFFICIENTLY LONG PERIOD OF TIME AND THEN ALLOWED TO RECOVER. OUR PRELIMINARY EXPERIMENTAL DATA INDICATES THAT A CHRONIC TGF-BETA EXPOSURE GIVES RISE TO IRREVEVERSIBLE EMT STATE; I.E. UNABLE TO REVERSE BACK TO THE EPITHELIAL STATE. THUS, THIS INTEGRATED THEORETICAL-EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH YIELDS INSIGHTS INTO HOW AN EPIGENETIC FEEDBACK MAY ALTER THE DYNAMICS OF EMT. 2019 18 3599 33 IMPORTANCE OF EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN CANCER ETIOLOGY, PATHOGENESIS, CLINICAL PROFILING, AND TREATMENT: WHAT CAN BE LEARNED FROM HEMATOLOGIC MALIGNANCIES? EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS REPRESENT A KEY CANCER HALLMARK, EVEN IN HEMATOLOGIC MALIGNANCIES (HMS) OR BLOOD CANCERS, WHOSE CLINICAL FEATURES DISPLAY A HIGH INTER-INDIVIDUAL VARIABILITY. EVIDENCE ACCUMULATED IN RECENT YEARS INDICATES THAT INACTIVATING DNA HYPERMETHYLATION PREFERENTIALLY TARGETS THE SUBSET OF POLYCOMB GROUP (PCG) GENES THAT ARE REGULATORS OF DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESSES. CONVERSELY, ACTIVATING DNA HYPOMETHYLATION TARGETS ONCOGENIC SIGNALING PATHWAY GENES, BUT OUTCOMES OF BOTH EVENTS LEAD IN THE OVEREXPRESSION OF ONCOGENIC SIGNALING PATHWAYS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE STEM-LIKE STATE OF CANCER CELLS. ON THE BASIS OF RECENT EVIDENCE FROM POPULATION-BASED, CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES, WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH RISK FOR DEVELOPING A HM, SUCH AS METABOLIC SYNDROME AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, TRIGGER EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS TO INCREASE THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL EXPRESSION OF ONCOGENES AND ACTIVATE ONCOGENIC SIGNALING PATHWAYS. AMONG OTHERS, SIGNALING PATHWAYS ASSOCIATED WITH SUCH RISK FACTORS INCLUDE PRO-INFLAMMATORY NUCLEAR FACTOR KAPPAB (NF-KAPPAB), AND MITOGENIC, GROWTH, AND SURVIVAL JANUS KINASE (JAK) INTRACELLULAR NON-RECEPTOR TYROSINE KINASE-TRIGGERED PATHWAYS, WHICH INCLUDE SIGNALING PATHWAYS SUCH AS TRANSDUCER AND ACTIVATOR OF TRANSCRIPTION (STAT), RAS GTPASES/MITOGEN-ACTIVATED PROTEIN KINASES (MAPKS)/EXTRACELLULAR SIGNAL-RELATED KINASES (ERKS), PHOSPHATIDYLINOSITOL 3-KINASE (PI3K)/AKT/MAMMALIAN TARGET OF RAPAMYCIN (MTOR), AND BETA-CATENIN PATHWAYS. RECENT FINDINGS ON EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS AT WORK IN HMS AND THEIR IMPORTANCE IN THE ETIOLOGY AND PATHOGENESIS OF THESE DISEASES ARE HEREIN SUMMARIZED AND DISCUSSED. FURTHERMORE, THE ROLE OF EPIGENETIC PROCESSES IN THE DETERMINATION OF BIOLOGICAL IDENTITY, THE CONSEQUENCES FOR INTERINDIVIDUAL VARIABILITY IN DISEASE CLINICAL PROFILE, AND THE POTENTIAL OF EPIGENETIC DRUGS IN HMS ARE ALSO CONSIDERED. 2013 19 376 26 AN EPI(C)GENETIC WAR: PATHOGENS, CANCER AND HUMAN GENOME. CANCER IS CHARACTERIZED BY INTER- AND INTRA-TUMOR HETEROGENEITY AND THIS IS ALSO OBSERVED IN THE CONTEXT OF CANCERS CAUSED BY PATHOGENS. NEARLY 20% OF ALL CANCERS ARE ATTRIBUTABLE TO PATHOGENIC ORGANISMS. PATHOGENIC INFECTIONS RESULT IN DEREGULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION BOTH BY GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS, THEREBY CAUSING MALIGNANT TRANSFORMATION. ANOTHER CHARACTERISTIC OF PATHOGEN-INDUCED CANCERS IS THE OCCURRENCE OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION DUE TO ACTIVATION OF THE INNATE AND ADAPTIVE ARMS OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM. THIS REVIEW FOCUSES ON THE EPIGENETIC CHANGES INDUCED BY ONCOVIRUSES, PARASITES, CANCER-CAUSING BACTERIA AND 'ENDOGENOUS PATHOGENS' TO TRIGGER HOST CELL PROLIFERATION INDEFINITELY AS WELL AS THE INFLAMMATION ASSOCIATED WITH PATHOGEN-INDUCED CANCERS. THE OPPORTUNITY OF TARGETING COMPONENTS OF BOTH PATHOGEN AND HOST EPIGENETIC MACHINERY TO LIMIT TUMOR PROGRESSION IS ALSO DISCUSSED. 2018 20 4284 33 MICRORNA CIRCUITS REGULATE THE CANCER-INFLAMMATION LINK. GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC PERTURBATIONS ARE REQUIRED TO TRANSFORM NORMAL CELLS INTO CANCER CELLS. INFLAMMATORY SIGNALING PATHWAYS ARE ACTIVATED IN VARIOUS CANCERS, LINKING CHRONIC INFLAMMATION TO ONCOGENESIS. HOWEVER, THE MOLECULAR CIRCUITS THAT RESULT IN SUSTAINED ACTIVATION OF THESE INFLAMMATORY FACTORS ARE NOT YET WELL UNDERSTOOD. IN THE 28 JANUARY 2014 ISSUE OF SCIENCE SIGNALING, XIANG ET AL. IDENTIFIED A MICRORNA-MEDIATED ANTI-INFLAMMATORY CIRCUIT THAT IS REPRESSED EPIGENETICALLY IN RECEPTOR-NEGATIVE BREAST CANCERS. A HIGH-THROUGHPUT SCREEN FOR SIGNAL TRANSDUCER AND ACTIVATOR OF TRANSCRIPTION 3 (STAT3)-REGULATED MICRORNAS REVEALED MICRORNA MIR-146B AS A DIRECT STAT3 TARGET IN MAMMARY EPITHELIAL CELLS, BUT DNA METHYLATION IN ITS PROMOTER AREA SUPPRESSED MIR-146B EXPRESSION IN CANCER CELLS. OVEREXPRESSION OF MIR-146B SUPPRESSED NUCLEAR FACTOR KAPPAB (NF-KAPPAB)-DEPENDENT EXPRESSION OF IL6 AND SUBSEQUENT STAT3 ACTIVATION AND DECREASED THE STAT3-INDUCED INVASIVENESS AND MESENCHYMAL PHENOTYPE OF BREAST CANCER CELLS. OVERALL, THIS STUDY CONTRIBUTES TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW INFLAMMATION IS INVOLVED IN ONCOGENIC TRANSFORMATION. FURTHER STUDIES COULD EVALUATE THE THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL OF TARGETING THIS CIRCUIT IN ESTROGEN RECEPTOR-NEGATIVE BREAST CANCERS. 2014