Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics 2024, Vol.12, No.1, 47-54 http://www.medscipublisher.com/index.php/cge 50 inhibiting epigenetic modifiers as a promising treatment strategy either as monotherapy or in combination with other anti-cancer therapies (Costa et al., 2023). This study by Bunsick et al., 2023, focused on how cannabinoids transform the metabolic phenotype of cancer through epigenetic reprogramming. By analyzing the environmental influence of cannabinoid factors and their combined effects on epigenetic modification, the study reveals a novel mechanism by which cannabinoids regulate cancer metabolism and epigenetic reprogramming through a biased G protein-coupled receptor signaling platform (Bunsick et al., 2023). These studies not only deepen our understanding of how the disease occurs, but also offer the possibility of developing new diagnostic methods and treatment strategies. For example, drugs developed to target specific epigenetic alterations have entered clinical trials, demonstrating the great potential of epigenetic research based on HTS technology (Jung et al., 2023; Liu et al., 2023; Lordo et al., 2023). 2 Application of HTS Technology in Disease Diagnosis and Treatment 2.1 Cancer research High-throughput sequencing (HTS) technology has revolutionized our understanding of cancer diagnosis and treatment. Through in-depth methylation patterns and histone modification analysis of tumor samples, HTS technology can not only help diagnose cancer, but also provide prognostic assessment for patients. 2.1.1 Methylation pattern analysis The HTS technique allows researchers to analyze the DNA methylation status of cancer cells on a genome-wide scale, revealing that methylation silencing of tumor suppressor genes is a feature common to many types of cancer. This discovery is crucial for early diagnosis and cancer typing. Wu et al. (2023) examined the DNA methylation profiles of the regulatory sequences of 57 known DNA repair pathway genes through targeted methylation sequencing technology, and found that the methylation levels of 5 genes were significantly different between breast cancer cases and controls, suggesting that DNA methylation may be an epigenetic marker of breast cancer susceptibility in the blood. Haber et al. (2023) mapped the partial methylation domains (PMDs) of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in a patient's blood at the single-cell level and found that 40 "core PMDs" were shared within cancer cells and between different individuals, as well as in prostate cancer cell lines. These core PMDs are highly enriched in immune-related genes, which tend to be located within a single chromosomal locus that targets silencing caused by demethylation. Luo et al. (2023) found that the LRRC3B (3B containing leucine-rich repeats) gene is a tumor suppressor gene that plays a role in the anti-tumor immune microenvironment. LRRC3B expression and the DNA methylation status of its promoter region can be useful markers for predicting response to anti-PD-1 therapy. These studies further highlight the importance of HTS techniques for genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation status in cancer cells, revealing a common feature of methylation silencing of tumor suppressor genes in multiple cancers, and providing new opportunities and targets for early diagnosis and treatment of cancer. 2.1.2 Histone modification analysis With the HTS technique, the researchers were able to study in detail the histone modification patterns in cancer cells, such as abnormal increases in H3K27me3, which are strongly associated with dysregulation of gene expression and tumor development. This information is valuable for understanding the pathogenesis of cancer and developing new therapeutic targets. Vezzoli et al. (2023) showed that in human embryonic stem cells, the acetylation of H3K18ac and H3K27ac is only partially established by p300, which is the main mode of acetylation of these histone proteins in somatic cells.
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