In Vivo Identification of H3K9me2/H3K79me3 as an Epigenetic Barrier to Carcinogenesis.

The highly dynamic nature of chromatin's structure, due to the epigenetic alterations of histones and DNA, controls cellular plasticity and allows the rewiring of the epigenetic landscape required for either cell differentiation or cell (re)programming. To dissect the epigenetic switch enabling the programming of a cancer cell, we carried out wide genome analysis of Histone 3 (H3) modifications during osteogenic differentiation of SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. The most significant modifications concerned H3K27me2/3, H3K9me2, H3K79me1/2, and H3K4me1 that specify the process of healthy adult stem cell differentiation.