Person: Pajares Villandiego, María Josefa
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Pajares Villandiego
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María Josefa
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Ciencias de la Salud
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0000-0002-9427-7937
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811611
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Publication Open Access Epigenetic regulation of microRNAs in cancer: shortening the distance from bench to bedside(MDPI, 2021) Pajares Villandiego, María Josefa; Alemany Cosme, Ester; Goñi Irigoyen, Saioa; Bandrés Elizalde, Eva; Palanca Ballester, Cora; Sandoval, Juan; Ciencias de la Salud; Osasun ZientziakCancer is a complex disease involving alterations of multiple processes, with both genetic and epigenetic features contributing as core factors to the disease. In recent years, it has become evident that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), an epigenetic factor, play a key role in the initiation and progression of cancer. MicroRNAs, the most studied non-coding RNAs subtype, are key controllers in a myriad of cellular processes, including proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Furthermore, the expression of miRNAs is controlled, concomitantly, by other epigenetic factors, such as DNA methylation and histone modifications, resulting in aberrant patterns of expression upon the occurrence of cancer. In this sense, aberrant miRNA landscape evaluation has emerged as a promising strategy for cancer management. In this review, we have focused on the regulation (biogenesis, processing, and dysregulation) of miRNAs and their role as modulators of the epigenetic machinery. We have also highlighted their potential clinical value, such as validated diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, and their relevant role as chromatin modifiers in cancer therapy.Publication Open Access Methods for analysis of specific DNA methylation status(Elevier, 2021) Pajares Villandiego, María Josefa; Palanca Ballester, Cora; Urtasun Alonso, Raquel; Alemany Cosme, Ester; Lahoz, Agustín; Sandoval, Juan; Ciencias de la Salud; Osasun ZientziakMethylation of CpG dinucleotides plays a crucial role in the regulation of gene expression and therefore in the development of different pathologies. Aberrant methylation has been associated to the majority of the diseases, including cancer, neurodegenerative, cardiovascular and autoimmune disorders. Analysis of DNA methylation patterns is crucial to understand the underlying molecular mechanism of these diseases. Moreover, DNA methylation patterns could be used as biomarker for clinical management, such as diagnosis, prognosis and treatment response. Nowadays, a variety of high throughput methods for DNA methylation have been developed to analyze the methylation status of a high number of CpGs at once or even the whole genome. However, identification of specific methylation patterns at specific loci is essential for validation and also as a tool for diagnosis. In this review, we describe the most commonly used approaches to evaluate specific DNA methylation. There are three main groups of techniques that allow the identification of specific regions that are differentially methylated: bisulfite conversion-based methods, restriction enzyme-based approaches, and affinity enrichment-based assays. In the first group, specific restriction enzymes recognize and cleave unmethylated DNA, leaving methylated sequences intact. Bisulfite conversion methods are the most popular approach to distinguish methylated and unmethylated DNA. Unmethylated cytosines are deaminated to uracil by sodium bisulfite treatment, while the methyl cytosines remain unconverted. In the last group, proteins with methylation binding domains or antibodies against methyl cytosines are used to recognize methylated DNA. In this review, we provide the theoretical basis and the framework of each technique as well as the analysis of their strength and the weaknesses.