Chemotherapy is the most common method to treat leukemia as well as other types of human cancers. However, drug resistance has remained as the main challenge against the efficacy of treatments. Furthermore, having various adverse effects, chemotherapy drugs are becoming replaced by natural modalities for cancer therapy. In this regard, herbal components such as resveratrol and prednisolone have been identified to sensitize the leukemic cells to programmed cell death through a set of complex processes. In this study, we have examined DNA methylation on the human multidrug resistance gene 1 (MDR1) as a well-known marker for cellular drug resistance. We evaluated the effect of resveratrol and prednisolone on DNA methylation patterns of MDR1 gene promoter in the CCRF-CEM cell line as a representative for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The study was aimed to clarify whether the MDR1 gene expression is regulated via DNA promoter methylation as a potential underlying mechanism, following exposure to resveratrol and prednisolone. Our data revealed that despite a strong influence to down-regulate the MDR1 expression, Resveratrol and Prednisolone did not alter the methylation pattern, suggesting other regulatory mechanisms in controlling the MDR1 expression in CCRF-CEM cell line. Unchanged status of DNA methylation of MDR1 gene may suggest that Resveratrol and Prednisolone causes the gene expression changes through a distinct mechanism which requires further studies to be understood. A more detailed understanding of the mechanisms beyond the regulation of the genes involved in cancer formation will help to design novel therapeutic strategies to fight the human cancers.
An abundance of experiments have been performed to clarify the differentiation process of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Osteogenic differentiation and in vitro conditions favoring these cell lineages have attracted the attention of many researchers. Moreover, the gene expression profile during MSC differentiation toward its main specialized cells (bone, cartilage, and adipose cells) has been mostly understood. In the last decades another layer of investigation has attempted to clarify the epigenetic mechanisms underlying MSC differentiation into its specialized cells. It has been shown that as MSCs progress through the differentiation process, more nonspecific genes undergo DNA methylation to prevent differentiation into improper cell fates. Moreover, promoters of lineage-specific genes are strongly hypomethylated in MSCs during differentiation. The main objective of this review is to address the role of major epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, and noncoding RNAs, especially miRNAs, in osteoblastic differentiation of MSCs and to summarize all the previous studies that have determined the epigenetic alterations of the nuclear genome during osteoblastic differentiation of MSCs.
Background and Objectives: Control processes in osteoblastic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells are not yet fully understood. Epigenetic mechanisms, especially the methylation of CpG Islands in the promoter of genes, are considered as one of the most important control mechanisms in stem cell differentiation. In the process of differentiation, it is debated whether only the methylation of specific genes changes or the methylation of global DNA. Therefore, in the present study, the state of global DNA methylation was evaluated during osteoblastic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells by differentiation medium and also in treatment by zoledronic acid. Materials and Methods:In this laboratory study, after isolation and proliferation of mesenchymal stem cells, induction of osteoblastic differentiation was done using differentiating medium and zoledronic acid. DNA extraction was performed at differentiation weeks 1, 2, and 3 as well as from undifferentiated mesenchymal stem cells. Global DNA methylation status was assessed by antibodies against 5-methyl cytosine. Repeated measurement design test was used to analyze the data. Results:Global DNA methylation status of the genome did not change during osteoblastic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (p=0.093). Also, treatment with zoledronic acid had no effect on global DNA methylation (p=0.057). Conclusion:Osteoblastic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells by differentiation medium and also in treatment with zoledronic acid is not associated with altered global methylation of the genome. Therefore, the differentiation process of mesenchymal stem cells to osteoblasts is a unique pathway, and possibly other genetic and epigenetic mechanisms play a role in controlling it.
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