Nuclear Factor of Activated T Cells Operates as Conductor of the Epigenetic Orchestra in Pancreatic Carcinogenesis

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed an explosive increase in our knowledge about the epigenetic features in human cancers. It became apparent that pancreatic cancer, additionally to its genetic background, is an epigenetic disease characterized by widespread alterations in DNA methylation, histone modification and recruitment of microRNAs. Although more and more in-depth research is performed and epigenetic modifications are shown in healthy and degenerated cells, we still lack insight into how epigenetic modifications are orchestrated during carcinogenesis. By introducing nuclear factor of activated T cell proteins and their impact on gene activation and silencing in pancreatic cancer, this review cites an example of how deregulated oncogenes modulate epigenetic alterations in epithelial cancers.