The prognostic capacities of CBP and p300 in locally advanced rectal cancer.

Background: CREB-binding protein (CBP) and p300 represent histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and transcriptional coactivators that play essential roles in tumour initiation and progression. Both proteins are generally thought to function as tumour suppressors, although their distinct roles in colorectal cancer (CRC) remain inconsistent and ambiguous. Thus, we analysed the expression of these two HATs in human tissue samples from patients with locally advanced rectal cancer via immunohistochemistry and evaluated their potential impacts on future CRC diagnosis and treatment.

The oxidative demethylase ALKBH3 marks hyperactive gene promoters in human cancer cells.

Background: The oxidative DNA demethylase ALKBH3 targets single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) in order to perform DNA alkylation damage repair. ALKBH3 becomes upregulated during tumorigenesis and is necessary for proliferation. However, the underlying molecular mechanism remains to be understood.