Nature：癌基因可改变染色体结构

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癌基因可以改变染色体的三维结构，染色体结构的改变又会影响其它基因的表达，从而促进了癌细胞的生长。

纽约威尔康奈尔医学院的Mark Rubin团队在正常的前列腺细胞中过表达ERG，来检测这一变化对染色体相互作用和基因表达的影响。ERG是一个转录因子，在前列腺癌中经常检测到ERG过表达。研究人员发现，过表达ERG能影响蛋白和DNA相互作用装配成染色体的结构，还会引起13号染色体和15号染色体之间的物质交换。这一结果提示：过度活跃的ERG可能会导致染色体组结构的次级变化。

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<a title="" href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/485551d" target="_blank">doi:10.1038/485551d</a>

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<br/><strong>Cancer gene shifts chromatin</strong><br/>


A cancer gene alters the three-dimensional structure of chromosomes, which could in turn affect the expression of other genes in ways that promote cancer development.

Mark Rubin at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York and his team mapped chromosomal interactions and changes in gene expression in healthy prostate cells that overexpress a cancer gene called ERG. The researchers found that ERG overexpression correlated with remodelling of the structure of chromatin — the protein–DNA package that constitutes chromosomes. ERG overexpression was linked with an exchange of material between chromosomes 13 and 15. This suggests that ERG overactivation might lead to secondary changes in genomic structure.
<div><br/>来源：生物谷 </div>
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