UVMCC and NCI investigators discover breast cancer compromises the human histone gene landscape

May 10, 2023 by Gary Stein, Ph.D.

Histone proteins package two-and-a-half yards of DNA in the cell nucleus. These chromosomal proteins epigenetically determine competency for gene expression that controls proliferation and specialized cell functions.

A recently published collaborative finding by University of Vermont Cancer Center investigators and colleagues at the National Cancer Institute established dynamic temporal-spatial remodeling of higher-order genome organization that is required to coordinate time-dependent histone biosynthesis with DNA replication. Combining genomic and multispectral imaging, the research team provided novel insight into the regulation and architectural organization of the genomic landscape in response to cell signaling pathways that control fidelity of proliferation, growth, and phenotype, as well as cancer compromised modifications during breast cancer initiation and progression.

Read the study in Gene