Scholars@Duke
Zhiqing Huang

Zhiqing Huang

Assistant Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology
Obstetrics and Gynecology, Reproductive Sciences
zhiqing.huang@duke.edu
Duke PO Box 90534, Durham, NC 27710
the Chesterfield Building, 701 West Main Street, Durham, NC 27701
Office hours 8-10 hours per day.  

Selected Publications

Periostin facilitates ovarian cancer recurrence by enhancing cancer stemness.

Journal Article Sci Rep · December 4, 2023 The lethality of epithelial ovarian cancer (OC) is largely due to a high rate of recurrence and development of chemoresistance, which requires synergy between cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME) and is thought to involve cancer stem cells. Ou ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Toward understanding the roles of matrix metallopeptidase 1 in ovarian cancer

Journal Article Journal of Gynecological Research and Obstetrics · February 8, 2023 Ovarian Cancer (OC) is the leading cause of gynecologic cancer-related deaths worldwide. The leading risk factors for OC-related death are OC recurrence and the development of chemotherapy resistance. Investigation into molecular differences that d ... Full text Cite

Association between PEG3 DNA methylation and high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.

Journal Article Infect Agent Cancer · June 13, 2021 BACKGROUND: Epigenetic mechanisms are hypothesized to contribute substantially to the progression of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) to cervical cancer, although empirical data are limited. METHODS: Women (n = 419) were enrolled at colposcopic eva ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

DNA Methylation in Babies Born to Nonsmoking Mothers Exposed to Secondhand Smoke during Pregnancy: An Epigenome-Wide Association Study.

Journal Article Environ Health Perspect · May 2021 BACKGROUND: Maternal smoking during pregnancy is related to altered DNA methylation in infant umbilical cord blood. The extent to which low levels of smoke exposure among nonsmoking pregnant women relates to offspring DNA methylation is unknown. OBJECTIVE: ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Male obesity impacts DNA methylation reprogramming in sperm.

Journal Article Clin Epigenetics · January 25, 2021 BACKGROUND: Male obesity has profound effects on morbidity and mortality, but relatively little is known about the impact of obesity on gametes and the potential for adverse effects of male obesity to be passed to the next generation. DNA methylation contr ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Gene Expression using Affymetrix Human Genome U133 Plus 2 Arrays from 16 Primary and Recurrent Serous Epithelial Ovarian Cancers

Dataset · January 15, 2021 This dataset was generated from 16 primary and matched recurrent ovarian cancer tissue sets from patients with stage III/IV serous epithelial ovarian cancer who were treated at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. The primary tumor spe ... Full text Cite

Primary and recurrent (second-look surgery) serous epithelial ovarian cancers Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip data

Dataset · January 8, 2021 This dataset was generated from 16 primary and matched recurrent ovarian cancer tissue sets from patients with stage III/IV serous epithelial OC. The primary tumor specimens were collected at the time of initial debulking surgery. Recurrent tumor samples w ... Full text Cite

Targeting Dormant Ovarian Cancer Cells In Vitro and in an In Vivo Mouse Model of Platinum Resistance.

Journal Article Mol Cancer Ther · January 2021 Spheroids exhibit drug resistance and slow proliferation, suggesting involvement in cancer recurrence. The protein kinase C inhibitor UCN-01 (7-hydroxystaurosporine) has shown higher efficacy against slow proliferating and/or quiescent ovarian cancer cells ... Full text Link to item Cite

Epigenetic Regulation of Claudin-1 in the Development of Ovarian Cancer Recurrence and Drug Resistance.

Journal Article Front Oncol · 2021 Over 21,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer (OC) in the United States each year and over half that number succumb to this disease annually, often due to recurrent disease. A deeper understanding of the molecular events associated with recurrent dis ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

H2O2-Driven Anticancer Activity of Mn Porphyrins and the Underlying Molecular Pathways.

Journal Article Oxid Med Cell Longev · 2021 Mn(III) ortho-N-alkyl- and N-alkoxyalkyl porphyrins (MnPs) were initially developed as superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimics. These compounds were later shown to react with numerous reactive species (such as ONOO-, H2O2, H2S, CO3 •-, ascorbate, and GSH). Moreo ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Epigenetic alterations in cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase (Por) in sperm of rats exposed to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)

Journal Article Scientific Reports · December 1, 2020 As marijuana legalization is increasing, research regarding possible long-term risks for users and their offspring is needed. Little data exists on effects of paternal tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) exposure prior to reproduction. This study determined if chro ... Full text Open Access Cite

Sperm DNA methylation altered by THC and nicotine: Vulnerability of neurodevelopmental genes with bivalent chromatin.

Journal Article Sci Rep · September 29, 2020 Men consume the most nicotine and cannabis products but impacts on sperm epigenetics are poorly characterized. Evidence suggests that preconception exposure to these drugs alters offspring neurodevelopment. Epigenetics may in part facilitate heritability. ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Data from: Cannabinoid exposure and altered DNA methylation in rat and human sperm

Dataset · August 25, 2020 This dataset contains the raw sequencing data files for reduced representation bisulfite sequencing. Abstract: Little is known about the reproductive effects of paternal cannabis exposure. We evaluated associations between cannabis or tetrahydrocannabinol ... Full text Cite

A TAZ-ANGPTL4-NOX2 Axis Regulates Ferroptotic Cell Death and Chemoresistance in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer.

Journal Article Mol Cancer Res · January 2020 Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecologic cancer. Despite recent advances, clinical outcomes remain poor, necessitating novel therapeutic approaches. To investigate metabolic susceptibility, we performed nutrigenetic screens on a panel of clear cell and ... Full text Link to item Cite

Cadmium exposure and MEG3 methylation differences between Whites and African Americans in the NEST Cohort.

Journal Article Environ Epigenet · July 2019 Cadmium (Cd) is a ubiquitous environmental pollutant associated with a wide range of health outcomes including cancer. However, obscure exposure sources often hinder prevention efforts. Further, although epigenetic mechanisms are suspected to link these as ... Full text Link to item Cite

Role of β-3 adrenergic receptor polymorphism in overactive bladder.

Journal Article Neurourol Urodyn · June 2019 AIMS: Women with overactive bladder (OAB) have a higher frequency of a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at codon 64 of the β-3 adrenergic receptor gene (ADRB3). Since the SNP results in an amino acid substitution that could theoretically alter receptor ... Full text Link to item Cite

Associations between imprinted gene differentially methylated regions, appetitive traits and body mass index in children.

Journal Article Pediatr Obes · February 2019 BACKGROUND: Knowledge regarding genetic influences on eating behaviours is expanding; yet less is known regarding contributions of epigenetic variation to appetitive traits and body mass index (BMI) in children. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to ... Full text Link to item Cite

Urine RNA Processing in a Clinical Setting: Comparison of 3 Protocols.

Journal Article Female Pelvic Med Reconstr Surg · 2019 OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to compare quantitative and qualitative RNA extraction results from clinical voided urine samples between 3 commercially available extraction protocols. METHODS: For phase 1, fresh voided urine samples from 10 fem ... Full text Link to item Cite

Downregulation of SNCA Expression by Targeted Editing of DNA Methylation: A Potential Strategy for Precision Therapy in PD.

Journal Article Mol Ther · November 7, 2018 Elevated levels of SNCA have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD), while normal physiological levels of SNCA are needed to maintain neuronal function. We ought to develop new therapeutic strategies targeting the regulation of SNC ... Full text Link to item Cite

DNA methylation of imprinted gene control regions in the regression of low-grade cervical lesions.

Journal Article Int J Cancer · August 1, 2018 The role of host epigenetic mechanisms in the natural history of low-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN1) is not well characterized. We explored differential methylation of imprinted gene regulatory regions as predictors of the risk of CIN1 regr ... Full text Link to item Cite

DNA methylation of imprinted genes in Mexican-American newborn children with prenatal phthalate exposure.

Journal Article Epigenomics · July 2018 AIM: Imprinted genes exhibit expression in a parent-of-origin-dependent manner and are critical for child development. Recent limited evidence suggests that prenatal exposure to phthalates, ubiquitous endocrine disruptors, can affect their epigenetic dysre ... Full text Link to item Cite

Periconceptional Maternal Mediterranean Diet Is Associated With Favorable Offspring Behaviors and Altered CpG Methylation of Imprinted Genes.

Journal Article Front Cell Dev Biol · 2018 Background: Maternal diet during pregnancy has been shown to influence the child neuro-developmental outcomes. Studies examining effects of dietary patterns on offspring behavior are sparse. Objective: Determine if maternal adherence to a Mediterranean die ... Full text Link to item Cite

Cannabinoid exposure and altered DNA methylation in rat and human sperm.

Journal Article Epigenetics · 2018 Little is known about the reproductive effects of paternal cannabis exposure. We evaluated associations between cannabis or tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) exposure and altered DNA methylation in sperm from humans and rats, respectively. DNA methylation, measur ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Histone H3.3K27M Represses p16 to Accelerate Gliomagenesis in a Murine Model of DIPG.

Journal Article Mol Cancer Res · September 2017 Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a highly aggressive pediatric brainstem tumor genetically distinguished from adult GBM by the high prevalence of the K27M mutation in the histone H3 variant H3.3 (H3F3A). This mutation reprograms the H3K27me3 epig ... Full text Link to item Cite

Blood monocyte transcriptome and epigenome analyses reveal loci associated with human atherosclerosis.

Journal Article Nat Commun · August 30, 2017 Little is known regarding the epigenetic basis of atherosclerosis. Here we present the CD14+ blood monocyte transcriptome and epigenome signatures associated with human atherosclerosis. The transcriptome signature includes transcription coactivator, ARID5B ... Full text Link to item Cite

Maternal inflammatory diet and adverse pregnancy outcomes: Circulating cytokines and genomic imprinting as potential regulators?

Journal Article Epigenetics · August 2017 Excessive inflammation during pregnancy alters homeostatic mechanisms of the developing fetus and has been linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes. An anti-inflammatory diet could be a promising avenue to combat the pro-inflammatory state of pregnancy, partic ... Full text Link to item Cite

Abstract 1991: Enhanced role of the extracellular matrix in ovarian cancer recurrence

Conference Cancer Research · July 1, 2017 AbstractPurpose: Despite improvements in care and advancements in the understanding of ovarian cancer (OC) pathobiology and genetic alterations, the survival rate is disappointingly low when compared to that ... Full text Cite

Effects of Pubertal Exposure to Dietary Soy on Estrogen Receptor Activity in the Breast of Cynomolgus Macaques.

Journal Article Cancer Prev Res (Phila) · May 2016 Endogenous estrogens influence mammary gland development during puberty and breast cancer risk during adulthood. Early-life exposure to dietary or environmental estrogens may alter estrogen-mediated processes. Soy foods contain phytoestrogenic isoflavones ... Full text Link to item Cite

Obesity-related DNA methylation at imprinted genes in human sperm: Results from the TIEGER study.

Journal Article Clin Epigenetics · 2016 BACKGROUND: Epigenetic reprogramming in mammalian gametes resets methylation marks that regulate monoallelic expression of imprinted genes. In males, this involves erasure of the maternal methylation marks and establishment of paternal-specific methylation ... Full text Link to item Cite

DNA Methylation of Regulatory Regions of Imprinted Genes at Birth and Its Relation to Infant Temperament.

Journal Article Genet Epigenet · 2016 BACKGROUND: DNA methylation of the differentially methylated regions (DMRs) of imprinted genes is relevant to neurodevelopment. METHODS: DNA methylation status of the DMRs of nine imprinted genes in umbilical cord blood leukocytes was analyzed in relation ... Full text Link to item Cite

Distinct Epigenetic Effects of Tobacco Smoking in Whole Blood and among Leukocyte Subtypes.

Journal Article PLoS One · 2016 Tobacco smoke exposure dramatically alters DNA methylation in blood cells and may mediate smoking-associated complex diseases through effects on immune cell function. However, knowledge of smoking effects in specific leukocyte subtypes is limited. To bette ... Full text Link to item Cite

Maternal blood lead concentrations, DNA methylation of MEG3 DMR regulating the DLK1/MEG3 imprinted domain and early growth in a multiethnic cohort.

Journal Article Environ Epigenet · 2016 Prenatal exposure to lead (Pb) is known to decrease fetal growth; but its effects on postnatal growth and mechanistic insights linking Pb to growth are not clearly defined. Genomically imprinted genes are powerful regulators of growth and energy utilizatio ... Full text Link to item Cite

Epigenetic silencing of Kruppel like factor-3 increases expression of pro-metastatic miR-182.

Journal Article Cancer Lett · December 1, 2015 Accumulating evidence indicates that microRNAs (miRs) regulate cancer metastasis. We have shown that miR-182 drives sarcoma metastasis in vivo by coordinated regulation of multiple genes. Recently, we also demonstrated that in a subset of primary sarcomas ... Full text Link to item Cite

Epigenetic Regulation of GDF2 Suppresses Anoikis in Ovarian and Breast Epithelia.

Journal Article Neoplasia · November 2015 Anoikis, a cell death mechanism triggered upon cell-matrix detachment, is regarded as a physiological suppressor of metastasis that can be regulated by a diverse array of signals. The protein encoded by GDF2 is BMP9 and is a member of the bone morphogeneti ... Full text Link to item Cite

Alterations of a Cellular Cholesterol Metabolism Network Are a Molecular Feature of Obesity-Related Type 2 Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease.

Journal Article Diabetes · October 2015 Obesity is linked to type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular diseases; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. We aimed to identify obesity-associated molecular features that may contribute to obesity-related diseases. Using circulati ... Full text Link to item Cite

ACLY and ACC1 Regulate Hypoxia-Induced Apoptosis by Modulating ETV4 via α-ketoglutarate.

Journal Article PLoS Genet · October 2015 In order to propagate a solid tumor, cancer cells must adapt to and survive under various tumor microenvironment (TME) stresses, such as hypoxia or lactic acidosis. To systematically identify genes that modulate cancer cell survival under stresses, we perf ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Genotype-Epigenotype Interaction at the IGF2 DMR.

Journal Article Genes (Basel) · August 28, 2015 Paternally expressed Insulin-like Growth Factor II (IGF2) encodes a gene whose protein product functions as a potent growth mitogen. Overexpression of IGF2 has been implicated in a wide number of disorders and diseases. IGF2 is regulated in part by differe ... Full text Link to item Cite

Abstract POSTER-BIOL-1319: Temporal shifts in the epigenetic regulation of tight junctions from primary to recurrent ovarian cancer

Conference Clinical Cancer Research · August 15, 2015 AbstractPurpose: Despite a complete clinical response following treatment with surgery and first-line chemotherapy, about 70-90% of patients with advanced stage ovarian cancer (OC) will inevitably experience ... Full text Cite

Abstract 2236: Emergence of epigenetic regulation of tight junction genes in recurrent serous epithelial ovarian cancer

Conference Cancer Research · August 1, 2015 AbstractPurpose: Despite a complete clinical response following treatment with surgery and first-line chemotherapy, about 70-90% of advanced ovarian cancer (OC) patients experience cancer recurrence. Our obj ... Full text Cite

Maternal cadmium, iron and zinc levels, DNA methylation and birth weight.

Journal Article BMC Pharmacol Toxicol · July 15, 2015 BACKGROUND: Cadmium (Cd) is a ubiquitous and environmentally persistent toxic metal that has been implicated in neurotoxicity, carcinogenesis and obesity and essential metals including zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) may alter these outcomes. However mechanisms un ... Full text Link to item Cite

Newborns of obese parents have altered DNA methylation patterns at imprinted genes

Journal Article International Journal of Obesity · April 9, 2015 Background:Several epidemiologic studies have demonstrated associations between periconceptional environmental exposures and health status of the offspring in later life. Although these environmentally related effects have been attributed to epigenetic cha ... Full text Open Access Cite

Newborns of obese parents have altered DNA methylation patterns at imprinted genes.

Journal Article Int J Obes (Lond) · April 2015 BACKGROUND: Several epidemiologic studies have demonstrated associations between periconceptional environmental exposures and health status of the offspring in later life. Although these environmentally related effects have been attributed to epigenetic ch ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Ascites Increases Expression/Function of Multidrug Resistance Proteins in Ovarian Cancer Cells.

Journal Article PLoS One · 2015 Chemotherapy resistance is the major reason for the failure of ovarian cancer treatment. One mechanism behind chemo-resistance involves the upregulation of multidrug resistance (MDR) genes (ABC transporters) that effectively transport (efflux) drugs out of ... Full text Link to item Cite

Epigenetic determinants of ovarian clear cell carcinoma biology.

Journal Article Int J Cancer · August 1, 2014 Targeted approaches have revealed frequent epigenetic alterations in ovarian cancer, but the scope and relation of these changes to histologic subtype of disease is unclear. Genome-wide methylation and expression data for 14 clear cell carcinoma (CCC), 32 ... Full text Link to item Cite

Erythrocyte folate concentrations, CpG methylation at genomically imprinted domains, and birth weight in a multiethnic newborn cohort.

Journal Article Epigenetics · August 2014 Epigenetic mechanisms are proposed to link maternal concentrations of methyl group donor nutrients with the risk of low birth weight. However, empirical data are lacking. We have examined the association between maternal folate and birth weight and assesse ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

PEG1/MEST and IGF2 DNA methylation in CIN and in cervical cancer

Journal Article Clinical and Translational Oncology · March 1, 2014 Introduction: Although most invasive cervical cancer (ICC) harbor <20 human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes, use of HPV screening to predict ICC from HPV has low specificity, resulting in multiple and costly follow-up visits and overtreatment. We examined D ... Full text Cite

Maternal stress, preterm birth, and DNA methylation at imprint regulatory sequences in humans.

Journal Article Genet Epigenet · 2014 In infants exposed to maternal stress in utero, phenotypic plasticity through epigenetic events may mechanistically explain increased risk of preterm birth (PTB), which confers increased risk for neurodevelopmental disorders, cardiovascular disease, and ca ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Associations between antibiotic exposure during pregnancy, birth weight and aberrant methylation at imprinted genes among offspring.

Journal Article Int J Obes (Lond) · July 2013 OBJECTIVES: Low birth weight (LBW) has been associated with common adult-onset chronic diseases, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes and some cancers. The etiology of LBW is multi-factorial. However, recent evidence suggests exposur ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

DNA methylation at imprint regulatory regions in preterm birth and infection.

Journal Article Am J Obstet Gynecol · May 2013 OBJECTIVE: To aid in understanding long-term health consequences of intrauterine infections in preterm birth, we evaluated DNA methylation at 9 differentially methylated regions that regulate imprinted genes by type of preterm birth (spontaneous preterm la ... Full text Link to item Cite

Abstract 5354: Altered DNA methylation at imprinted insulin-like growth factor-2 (IGF2) resulting from heavy metal exposure in vitro and in vivo in infants from the newborn epigenetic study (NEST).

Conference Cancer Research · April 15, 2013 AbstractEarly life exposure to heavy metals, including lead, has adverse consequences on health and development but the mechanism(s) underlying these effects are unclear. Epigenetic deregulation resulting fr ... Full text Cite

Paternal obesity is associated with IGF2 hypomethylation in newborns: results from a Newborn Epigenetics Study (NEST) cohort.

Journal Article BMC Med · February 6, 2013 BACKGROUND: Data from epidemiological and animal model studies suggest that nutrition during pregnancy may affect the health status of subsequent generations. These transgenerational effects are now being explained by disruptions at the level of the epigen ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Associations between methylation of paternally expressed gene 3 (PEG3), cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and invasive cervical cancer.

Journal Article PLoS One · 2013 Cytology-based screening for invasive cervical cancer (ICC) lacks sensitivity and specificity to discriminate between cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) likely to persist or progress from cases likely to resolve. Genome-wide approaches have been used ... Full text Link to item Cite

Increased Intragenic IGF2 Methylation is Associated with Repression of Insulator Activity and Elevated Expression in Serous Ovarian Carcinoma.

Journal Article Front Oncol · 2013 Overexpression of insulin-like growth factor-II (IGF2) is a prominent characteristic of many epithelial ovarian malignancies. IGF2 imprinting and transcription are regulated in part through DNA methylation, which in turn regulates binding of the insulator ... Full text Link to item Cite

Bisulfite pyrosequencing.

Journal Article Methods Mol Biol · 2013 Bisulfite pyrosequencing is a sequencing-by-synthesis method used to quantitatively determine the methylation of individual CG cytosines from PCR amplicons of a region up to 115 bases in length. The procedure relies on prior bisulfite conversion of all pot ... Full text Link to item Cite

Bisulfite sequencing of cloned alleles.

Journal Article Methods Mol Biol · 2013 Bisulfite sequencing of cloned alleles is a widely used method for capturing the methylation profiles of single alleles. This method combines PCR amplification of the bisulfite-modified DNA with the subcloning of the amplicons into plasmids followed by tra ... Full text Link to item Cite

Methylation-specific PCR.

Journal Article Methods Mol Biol · 2013 Defining DNA methylation patterns in the genome has become essential for understanding diverse biological processes including the regulation of gene expression, imprinted genes, and X chromosome inactivation and how these patterns are deregulated in human ... Full text Link to item Cite

Main principles and outcomes of DNA methylation analysis.

Journal Article Methods Mol Biol · 2013 Epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation, are critically important mediators of normal cell function over the course of our lives. These modifications therefore also can play prominent roles in the development of disorders and diseases, includin ... Full text Link to item Cite

TP53 Status is Associated with Thrombospondin1 Expression In vitro.

Journal Article Front Oncol · 2013 OBJECTIVES: To elucidate the association between thrombospondin1 (THBS1) expression and TP53 status and THBS1 promoter methylation in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). METHODS: Epithelial ovarian cancer cell lines with known TP53 status were analyzed for TH ... Full text Link to item Cite

Bisulfite sequencing of cloned alleles

Chapter · December 2, 2012 This book will be of interest to practitioners in the fields of biology and molecular genetics. ... Cite

Bisulfite pyrosequencing

Chapter · December 2, 2012 This book will be of interest to practitioners in the fields of biology and molecular genetics. ... Cite

Methylation-specific PCR

Chapter · December 2, 2012 This book will be of interest to practitioners in the fields of biology and molecular genetics. ... Cite

Abstract B35: Altered DNA methylation at imprinted insulin-like growth factor-2 (IGF2) resulting from heavy metal exposure in vitro and in vivo in infants from the Newborn Epigenetic STudy (NEST).

Conference Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention · October 1, 2012 AbstractBackground: Early life exposure to heavy metals, including lead, has adverse consequences on health and development but the mechanism(s) underlying these effects are unclear. Epigenetic deregulation ... Full text Cite

450K epigenome-wide scan identifies differential DNA methylation in newborns related to maternal smoking during pregnancy.

Journal Article Environ Health Perspect · October 2012 BACKGROUND: Epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation, due to in utero exposures may play a critical role in early programming for childhood and adult illness. Maternal smoking is a major risk factor for multiple adverse health outcomes in children ... Full text Link to item Cite

Insulin-like growth factor 2/H19 methylation at birth and risk of overweight and obesity in children.

Journal Article J Pediatr · July 2012 OBJECTIVE: To determine whether aberrant DNA methylation at differentially methylated regions (DMRs) regulating insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) expression in umbilical cord blood is associated with overweight or obesity in a multiethnic cohort. STUDY D ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Depression in pregnancy, infant birth weight and DNA methylation of imprint regulatory elements.

Journal Article Epigenetics · July 2012 Depressed mood in pregnancy has been linked to low birth weight (LBW, < 2,500 g), a risk factor for adult-onset chronic diseases in offspring. We examined maternal depressed mood in relation to birth weight and evaluated the role of DNA methylation at regu ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Abstract 5363: Aggregation rather than monoclonal expansion explains ovarian cancer spheroid formation

Journal Article Cancer Research · April 15, 2012 AbstractPurpose: It is thought that a subpopulation of ovarian cancer cells possess stem cell like properties and are responsible for both the emergence of cancer and for subsequent chemoresistance and recur ... Full text Cite

Association of cord blood methylation fractions at imprinted insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2), plasma IGF2, and birth weight.

Journal Article Cancer Causes Control · April 2012 PURPOSE: Altered methylation at Insulin-like Growth Factor 2 (IGF2) regulatory regions has previously been associated with obesity, and several malignancies including colon, esophageal, and prostate adenocarcinomas, presumably via changes in expression and ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Gender-specific methylation differences in relation to prenatal exposure to cigarette smoke.

Journal Article Gene · February 15, 2012 Epigenetic alterations may mechanistically explain the developmental origins of adult disease, namely the hypothesis that many complex adult chronic diseases originate as a result of conditions encountered in utero. If true, epigenetically regulated imprin ... Full text Link to item Cite

The activated transforming growth factor-beta signaling pathway in peritoneal metastases is a potential therapeutic target in ovarian cancer.

Journal Article Int J Cancer · January 1, 2012 Peritoneal dissemination including omental metastasis is the most frequent route of metastasis and an important prognostic factor in advanced ovarian cancer. We analyzed the publicly available microarray dataset (GSE2109) using binary regression and found ... Full text Link to item Cite

Differentially methylated regions of imprinted genes in prenatal, perinatal and postnatal human tissues.

Journal Article PLoS One · 2012 Epigenetic plasticity in relation to in utero exposures may mechanistically explain observed differences in the likelihood of developing common complex diseases including hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease through the cumulative effects of s ... Full text Link to item Cite

Quantitative detection of RASSF1A DNA promoter methylation in tumors and serum of patients with serous epithelial ovarian cancer.

Journal Article Gynecol Oncol · December 2011 OBJECTIVE: Detection of cell free tumor-specific DNA methylation has been proposed as a potentially useful noninvasive mechanism to detect malignancies, including ovarian cancer, and to monitor response to treatment. However, there are few easily implement ... Full text Link to item Cite

The regulation of MASPIN expression in epithelial ovarian cancer: association with p53 status, and MASPIN promoter methylation: a gynecologic oncology group study.

Journal Article Gynecol Oncol · November 2011 OBJECTIVES: To elucidate the regulation of MASPIN expression in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and associations with p53 status and MASPIN promoter methylation. METHODS: Seven EOC cell lines and 110 advanced stage EOC specimens were analyzed for MASPIN pr ... Full text Link to item Cite

The effects of depression and use of antidepressive medicines during pregnancy on the methylation status of the IGF2 imprinted control regions in the offspring.

Journal Article Clin Epigenetics · October 26, 2011 In utero exposures to environmental factors may result in persistent epigenetic modifications affecting normal development and susceptibility to chronic diseases in later life. We explored the relationship between exposure of the growing fetus to maternal ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Methylation variation at IGF2 differentially methylated regions and maternal folic acid use before and during pregnancy.

Journal Article Epigenetics · July 2011 Folic acid (FA) supplementation before and during pregnancy has been associated with decreased risk of neural tube defects although recent reports suggest it may also increase the risk of other chronic diseases. We evaluated exposure to maternal FA supplem ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Epigenetic suppression of the TGF-beta pathway revealed by transcriptome profiling in ovarian cancer.

Journal Article Genome Res · January 2011 Epithelial ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death among gynecologic malignancies. Diagnosis usually occurs after metastatic spread, largely reflecting vague symptoms of early disease combined with lack of an effective screening strategy. Epigenetic m ... Full text Link to item Cite

Elevated MAL expression is accompanied by promoter hypomethylation and platinum resistance in epithelial ovarian cancer.

Journal Article Int J Cancer · March 15, 2010 We previously found that the gene encoding the Myelin and Lymphocyte protein, MAL, was among the most highly expressed genes in serous ovarian cancers from short-term survivors (<3 years) relative to those of long-term survivors (>7 years). In the present ... Full text Link to item Cite

MLH1 expression sensitises ovarian cancer cells to cell death mediated by XIAP inhibition.

Journal Article Br J Cancer · July 21, 2009 BACKGROUND: The X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP), an endogenous apoptosis suppressor, can determine the level of caspase accumulation and the resultant response to apoptosis-inducing agents such as cisplatin in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) ... Full text Link to item Cite

Yin yang 1 modulates taxane response in epithelial ovarian cancer.

Journal Article Mol Cancer Res · February 2009 Survival of ovarian cancer patients is largely dictated by their response to chemotherapy, which depends on underlying molecular features of the malignancy. We previously identified YIN YANG 1 (YY1) as a gene whose expression is positively correlated with ... Full text Link to item Cite

Epigenetic regulation of CD133 and tumorigenicity of CD133+ ovarian cancer cells.

Journal Article Oncogene · January 15, 2009 The cancer stem cell hypothesis posits that malignant growth arises from a rare population of progenitor cells within a tumor that provide it with unlimited regenerative capacity. Such cells also possess increased resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. Res ... Full text Link to item Cite

Trinucleotide repeat polymorphisms in the androgen receptor gene and risk of ovarian cancer.

Journal Article Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev · March 2007 INTRODUCTION: Androgens may play a role in the development of ovarian cancers. Two trinucleotide repeat polymorphisms have been described in exon 1 of the androgen receptor (AR) gene that may affect its function. Previous studies of ovarian cancer and AR r ... Full text Link to item Cite

YY1 imprint status and role in ovarian carcinogenesis

Conference CANCER RESEARCH · April 1, 2006 Link to item Cite

Frequent IGF2/H19 domain epigenetic alterations and elevated IGF2 expression in epithelial ovarian cancer.

Journal Article Mol Cancer Res · April 2006 Overexpression of the imprinted insulin-like growth factor-II (IGF2) is a prominent characteristic of gynecologic malignancies. The purpose of this study was to determine whether IGF2 loss of imprinting (LOI), aberrant H19 expression, and/or epigenetic der ... Full text Link to item Cite

Callipyge mutation affects gene expression in cis: a potential role for chromatin structure.

Journal Article Genome Res · March 2006 Muscular hypertrophy in callipyge sheep results from a single nucleotide substitution located in the genomic interval between the imprinted Delta, Drosophila, Homolog-like 1 (DLK1) and Maternally Expressed Gene 3 (MEG3). The mechanism linking the mutation ... Full text Link to item Cite

High throughput detection of M6P/IGF2R intronic hypermethylation and LOH in ovarian cancer.

Journal Article Nucleic Acids Res · 2006 Cell surface mannose 6-phosphate/insulin-like growth factor II receptors (M6P/IGF2R) bind and target exogenous insulin-like growth factor II (IGF2) to the prelysosomes where it is degraded. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) for M6P/IGF2R is found in cancers, wi ... Full text Link to item Cite

Gene expression changes and signaling events associated with the direct antimelanoma effect of IFN-gamma.

Journal Article Cancer Res · October 1, 2005 IFN-gamma plays a role in the response to melanoma indirectly through its effect on the immune system and directly through its antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects on melanoma cells. To understand the molecular basis for the direct antimelanoma effec ... Full text Link to item Cite