Scientists are finding ways to put on and off genes as a means of battling cancer, which would eventually lead to highly personalized treatment for cancer at the genetic level. Such methods could shut down cancer’s defenses against medications.
The code treatment;
The molecular insight into our own DNA is now possible through a field called Personal genomics. Such approaches can let us know when we could have cancer-causing alterations in our genes. Well-known examples are the 1. Melanoma oncogene BRAF kinase 2. Breast cancer gene BRCA1 3. Prostate specific antigen- PSA.
However, there is more to cancer and other diseases than our genes. There is a hidden layer of regulation controlling the activity of our genes in addition to the DNA code. This field is known as EPIGENETICS- the study of how genes are regulated to express themselves though they rely on the same genetic information.
This field of study answers the questions regarding the differences in identical twins, how the lifestyle of our grandparents affects our lives today? This hidden layer is responsible for fine-tuning alongside our DNA known as epigenomic regulation. This field of quantifying epigenetic marks on a genome- wide scale thereby capturing a snapshot of our epigenetic state.
During the recent times, the systems biology and cancer metabolism lab at UC Merced published discoveries about an epigenetic factor called Jumonji. This factor doesn’t only affect how an entire network of cancer genes behaves, it takes the role of a cancer gene- leading to uncontrolled cell growth.
This field gives knowledge of chemical modifications that can switch genes on or off. Most importantly, none of these modifications changes the DNA sequence. Alternatively, our cells use epigenomic regulators to control the activity of genes. With right chemistry, right genes are produced at the right time.
Environmental influences like smoking or nutrition as well as our own hormones have strong epigenetic impact and affect how active our genes are.
In diseases such as cancer, epigenomic regulators such as Jumonji are mistuned often that affects gene activity. They rely on chemical modifications on their target genes, this can lead to altered metabolism, which promotes unlimited cellular growth. When the cells have unlimited ability to divide, they form a tumor.
Jumonji is over abundant in cancer cells and promotes uncontrolled division of cancer cells that leads to unstoppable tumor growth. Jumonji takes the role of an epigenetic master regulator of cancer genes.
Jumonji teams up with hormone dependent regulators that are responsible for treating resistant cancers.
System biology opens possibilities to understand regulatory signals and circuits that govern our cells. When we can comprehend these signals, we can design drugs to break unwanted circuits and overcome resistances. The hidden, complex nature, epigenomics benefits from a system biology approach that lays open critical wiring of our cells.
Drugs targeting the epigenomic machinery increase optimism as a viable direction of clinical research. Present day clinical queries relevant to epigenetic research address which drug molecules modify the epigenome, and which specifically kill cancer cells. Epigenetics can even assist the cancer cells to manipulate our own immune system and the drug targeting approaches.