New paper below [1]. However, details in the full text.
Great to see a U.S. interest in the subject of aberrant DNA methylation in cancer & the dietary micronutrients that contribute to that.
In my posts I tend to focus on folate (from foliage) & folic acid (from fortified grain products or supplements), as methyl donors. And also the co-factor vitamin B12. The idea is that we can perhaps limit intake & slow or stop unwanted methylation. My posts usually refer to the "SAM cycle".
The new paper promises a broader look at dietary micronutrients.
"DNA methylation is an epigenetic mechanism that is essential for regulating gene transcription. However, aberrant DNA methylation, which is a nearly universal finding in cancer, can result in disturbed gene expression. DNA methylation is modified by environmental factors such as diet that may modify cancer risk and tumor behavior. Abnormal DNA methylation has been observed in several cancers such as colon, stomach, cervical, prostate, and breast cancers. These alterations in DNA methylation may play a critical role in cancer development and progression. Dietary nutrient intake and bioactive food components are essential environmental factors that may influence DNA methylation either by directly inhibiting enzymes that catalyze DNA methylation or by changing the availability of substrates required for those enzymatic reactions such as the availability and utilization of methyl groups. In this review, we focused on nutrients that act as methyl donors or methylation co-factors and presented intriguing evidence for the role of these bioactive food components in altering DNA methylation patterns in cancer. Such a role is likely to have a mechanistic impact on the process of carcinogenesis and offer possible therapeutic potentials."
-Patrick
[1] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/308...
Nutrients. 2019 Mar 13;11(3). pii: E608. doi: 10.3390/nu11030608.
Methyl Donor Micronutrients that Modify DNA Methylation and Cancer Outcome.
Mahmoud AM1,2, Ali MM3,4.
Author information
1
Department of Physical Therapy, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1919 W. Taylor St. (AHSB), Room 433, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. amahmo4@uic.edu.
2
Integrative Physiology Laboratory, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. amahmo4@uic.edu.
3
Department of Physical Therapy, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1919 W. Taylor St. (AHSB), Room 433, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. mali37@uic.edu.
4
Integrative Physiology Laboratory, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. mali37@uic.edu.
Abstract
{text as above}
KEYWORDS: DNA methylation; Vitamin B; betaine; cancer; choline; dietary; folate; methyl donors; methyltransferase; nutrients
PMID: 30871166 DOI: 10.3390/nu11030608
Homocysteine, hypermethylation/PCa aggressiveness and MTFHR mutation
