The discovery that cells are responding to the internal environment of our thoughts, beliefs and feelings gives all of us hope that changing our behaviors literally produces biological changes on the cellular level.

Epigenetic research reveals the following:

• Genetics are controlled by perception of our environment NOT genes.
• Genes do not control who you are nor your biological expression.
• Genes adapt to your beliefs and identities
• Genes cannot turn themselves on or off; the organism changes to adapt to the environment.

Methylation

Let's review another potential link between epigenetic processes and disease called methylation.

Methylation is the passing of a chemical fragment called a methyl group (a carbon atom linked to three hydrogen atoms) from one molecule to another. This chemical "tag" acts as an all-important signal and structural modification throughout our bodies (Mitchell 1998). Although there are many uses of methylation, DNA methylation is one of the essential, and one of the most important uses of methyl groups. If methylation of DNA is limited or prevented, mouse embryos won't develop and life just stops (Li et al. 1992).

DNA methylation was the first epigenetic alteration to be observed in cancer cells. Hypermethylation of CpG islands at tumour suppressor genes switches off these genes, whereas global hypomethylation leads to genome instability and inappropriate activation of oncogenes and transposable elements.

It appears that genomic DNA methylation levels, which are maintained by DNMT enzymes, are delicately balanced within cells; over-expression of DNMTs is linked to cancer in humans, and their deletion from animals is lethal.

Furthermore, methyl cytosine is capable of spontaneously mutating in vivo by deamination to give thymine. Indeed, 37 percent of somatic p53 gene mutations (and 58 percent of germ-line mutations) occur at methyl CpGs, and these mutations are strongly impli-cated in the cause of cancer.

A number of factors can influence the DNA methylation levels of a cell without requiring a change in genomic DNA sequence.

• Aging: With aging in certain tissues there is a general tendency for the genome to become hypomethylated whereas certain CpG islands become hypermethylated, a situation reminiscent of that found in many cancer cells. Whether this age-dependent change in DNA methylation is linked to the increased cancer incidence in later life remains to be determined.
• Diet: Nutrition supplies the methyl groups for DNA (and histone) methylation via the folate and methionine pathways. Impor-tantly, mammals cannot synthesize folate or methionine and so a diet low in these compounds leads to alterations in DNA methy-lation. These changes have been associated with cancer.
• Environment: Many toxic agents such as arsenic and cadmium can have profound effects on DNA methylation. Arsenic causes hy-pomethylation of the ras gene whereas cadmium induces global hypomethylation by inactivating DNMT. You can detoxify arsenic and cadmium with both homeopathic medicine and a whole body detoxification.

References:

• Dr. Andy Bannister, Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge: The Role of Epigentetics in Cancer.
• Theresa Dale, PhD, CCN, ND, NP. 1994 Transform Your Emotional DNA, NeuroPhysical Reprogramming(R), California College of Natural Medicine.
• Bruce Lipton, PhD, 2005 Biology of Belief
• Egger G, Liang G, Aparicio A, Jones PA. Epigenetics in human disease and prospects for epigenetic therapy. Nature (2004) 429:457-463
• Zhang K, Dent SY. Histone modifying enzymes and cancer: going beyond histones. J. Cell. Biochem. (2005) 96:1137-1144.
• Santos-Rosa H, Caldas C. Chromatin modifier enzymes, the histone code and cancer. Eur. J. Cancer (2005) 41:2381-2402.
• Feinberg AP. The epigenetics of cancer etiology. Seminars Cancer Biol. (2004) 14:427-432.
• Feinberg AP, Tycko B. The history of cancer epigenetics. Nat. Rev. Cancer (2004) 4:143-153.
• Rodenhiser D, Mann M. Epigenetics and human disease: translating basic biology into clinical applications. C.M.A.J. (2006) 174:341-348.
• Rideout WM 3rd, Coetzee GA, Olumi AF, Jones PA. 5-Methylcytosine as an endogenous mutagen in the human LDL receptor and p53 genes. Science (1990) 249:1288-1290.
• Fuks F. DNA methylation and histone modifications: teaming up to silence genes. Curr. Opin. Genet. Dev. (2005) 15:490-495.
• Fraga MF et al. Loss of acetylation at Lys16 and trimethylation at Lys20 of histone H4 is a common hallmark of human cancer. Nat. Genet. (2005) 37:391-340.
• Richardson B. Impact of aging on DNA methylation. Ageing Res. Rev. (2003) 2:245-261.
• Okoji RS, Yu RC, Maronpot RR, Froines JR. Sodium arsenite administration via drinking water increases genome-wide and Ha-ras DNA hypomethylation in methyl-deficient C57BL/6J mice. Carcinogenesis (2002) 23:777-785.
• Takiguchi M, Achanzar WE, Qu W, Li G, Waalkes MP. Effects of cadmium on DNA-(Cytosine-5) methyltransferase activity and DNA methylation status during cadmium-induced cellular transformation. Exp. Cell Res. (2003) 286:355-365.
• Lund AH, van Lohuizen M. Epigenetics and cancer. Genes Dev. (2004) 18:2315-2335.
• Schneider R, Bannister AJ, Kouzarides T. Unsafe SETs: histone lysine methyltransferases and cancer. Trends Biochem. Sci. (2002) 27:396-402.
• Mattick JS, Makunin IV. Non-coding RNA. Human Molec. Genet. (2006) 15:R17- R29.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoneuroimmunology#Birth_of_psychoneuroimmunology

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Dr. Theresa Dale has been in private practice since 1980 in the areas of homeopathy, naturopathy and nutrition. Her Web site may be found at www.wellnesscenter.net.