Figure 1.

Epigenetic regulation of gene expression in PCa. This schematic illustrates how changes in the normal conformation of chromatin structure can impact transcription in PCa. In the left panel, low acetylation results in tightly wound DNA and transcription is rare. In the middle, methylation and acetylation of histones result in loose chromatin conformations and reduced ability of RNA polymerase (RNA Pol) to access the promoter region. Finally, the right panel illustrates the situation whereby histones are deacetylated by HDACs, promoter regions are hypermethylated by DNMTs and the chromatin conformation is closed. Transcription in this situation is very rare; the gene is effectively silenced. Orange “M” squares represent methyl groups; yellow “A” triangles represent acetyl groups.