Fig. 7.

Schematic diagram showing opposing effects of mdig silencing on expression of genes for cell motility and invasion between earlier and later stage cancer cells. In normal cells or earlier stage cancer cells, the chromatin of these genes is partially open. Mdig silencing increases both H3K9me3 and DNA methylation, causing further condensation of the chromatin and inhibition of these genes. In later stage and metastatic cancer cells, the chromatin configuration of these genes is widely open. Mdig silencing enhances DNA and histone methylation in the intron or gene body of these genes, and a few of the nucleosome histone proteins, which may result in recruitment of transcriptional regulatory proteins for enhanced transcription of genes involved in cell motility, invasion and metastasis