SIN3-HDAC complex-associated factor, a chromatin remodelling gene located in the 12p amplicon, is a potential germ cell tumour-specific oncogene.

A genetic hallmark of malignant germ cell tumours (GCTs) is isochromosome 12p, but oncogenes located in 12p that are specifically expressed in GCT have not yet been identified. SIN3-HDAC complex-associated factor (SINHCAF) is a subunit of the Sin3/histone deacetylase (HDAC) complex, and it defines a Sin3a-Hdac complex variant that is required for the self-renewal of mouse embryonic stem cells. This study demonstrated that SINHCAF is expressed in a vast majority of malignant GCTs and is rarely expressed in somatic malignancy.

Increased Trimethylation of histone H3K36 associates with biliary differentiation and predicts poor prognosis in resectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

Introduction: Trimethylation of histone H3K36 (H3K36me3), an epigenetic marker of transcription-associated histone modification and stem cell regulation, is expressed in a variety of human cancers. This study elucidated the prognostic significance of H3K36me3 in patients with resectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: Expression of H3K36me3 was retrospectively evaluated through immunohistochemistry in 152 surgically resected primary HCCs.

Microinsertions in PRKACA cause activation of the protein kinase A pathway in cardiac myxoma.

Cardiac myxoma is the most common cardiac tumour. Most lesions occur sporadically, but occasional lesions develop in patients with Carney complex, a syndrome characterized by cardiac myxoma, spotty pigmentation, and endocrine overactivity. Two-thirds of patients with Carney complex harbour germline mutations in PRKAR1A, which encodes the type I regulatory subunit of protein kinase A (PKA).