目前认为恶性肿瘤的形成是遗传和表观遗传机制共同作用的结果。表观遗传机制包括DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰和 miRNA。DNA 异常甲基化(高甲基化和低甲基化)是前列腺癌最具特征的表观遗传改变,它能够导致基因组不稳定,调控基因的异常表达,在前列腺癌的形成和发展中起到重要作用。同时, DNA甲基化作为前列腺癌表观遗传研究的一个热点,为临床前列腺癌的早期诊断、预后评估及药物治疗提供新的方法和途径。文章根据前列腺癌的 DNA 高甲基化和低甲基化的最新研究成果阐述了前列腺癌形成的表观遗传学机制,并且讨论了它们在前列腺癌临床转化方面的最新研究进展。
It is well-known that the interation of both genetic and epigenetic mechanisms results in the formation of malignant tumor. Epigenetic mechanism includes DNA methylation, histone modifications, and miRNA regulation. DNA aberrant methylation (hypermethylation and hypomethylation), which leads to genomic instability and inappropriate gene expression, is the best-characterized alteration in prostate cancer. It plays an important role in the initiation and develop-ment of prostate cancer. Meanwhile, DNA methylation, as a hotspot in researches of epigenetics, would provide a new methodology and approach for early clinical diagnosis, prognosis and medication treatment of prostate cancer. According to recent studies on DNA hypermethylation and DNA hypomethylation, this review highlights the potential epigenetic mecha-nism of prostate cancer and discusses the latest research progress in clinical translation.