Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics 2024, Vol.12, No.6, 329-345 http://medscipublisher.com/index.php/cge 333 (TADs) can bring distant regulatory elements into close proximity with ncRNA gene promoters, facilitating or hindering their transcription. In ovarian cancer, disruptions in chromatin architecture can lead to the misregulation of ncRNAs, affecting their roles in gene expression and cellular homeostasis (Morselli and Dieci, 2022). The epigenetic regulation of ncRNAs in ovarian cancer involves complex mechanisms, including DNA methylation, histone modifications, and chromatin remodeling. These processes collectively influence the expression and function of miRNAs and lncRNAs, contributing to the intricate regulatory networks that drive cancer development and progression. Understanding these mechanisms provides valuable insights into potential therapeutic targets for ovarian cancer treatment. 4 DNA Methylation and Non-coding RNAs in Ovarian Cancer 4.1 Role of DNA Methylation in ncRNA Expression: How methylation affects miRNA and lncRNA activity DNA methylation is a crucial epigenetic modification that significantly influences the expression of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), including microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). Methylation typically occurs at the cytosine residues of CpG dinucleotides, leading to transcriptional repression when present in gene promoter regions. This epigenetic mechanism can either silence or activate ncRNAs, thereby impacting their regulatory roles in gene expression and cellular processes. In ovarian cancer, DNA methylation has been shown to modulate the expression of various ncRNAs, which in turn affects cancer progression and metastasis. For instance, hypermethylation of promoter regions can lead to the silencing of tumor suppressor miRNAs, while hypomethylation can result in the overexpression of oncogenic lncRNAs. This dynamic regulation underscores the importance of DNA methylation in the functional modulation of ncRNAs in ovarian cancer (Figure 2)(Zhang et al., 2020; Dai et al., 2021).
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