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Epigenetic Drugs and Clinical Trials

Section information

Section Editors : Paola Arimondo 

Associate Editors : Nick La Thangue, Antonello Mai, Richard Momparler

This section publishes research on the potential of (novel) epigenetic drugs for the treatment of diseases. Particularly, submissions that provide insights into mechanisms of action of epidrugs, including the immune modulatory effects, are welcomed. Manuscripts on both preclinical and early clinical studies are welcome. Preclinical studies should include the rationale for translation of the activity of epigenetic agents from the bench to the bedside. The clinical trials on epigenetic agents should include the background, rationale, clinical design and key endpoints.


  1. Genetic and environmental risk factors contribute to periodontal disease, but the underlying susceptibility pathways are not fully understood. Epigenetic mechanisms are malleable regulators of gene function th...

    Authors: Yuko Kurushima, Pei-Chien Tsai, Juan Castillo-Fernandez, Alexessander Couto Alves, Julia Sarah El-Sayed Moustafa, Caroline Le Roy, Tim D. Spector, Mark Ide, Francis J. Hughes, Kerrin S. Small, Claire J. Steves and Jordana T. Bell
    Citation: Clinical Epigenetics 2019 11:27
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecologic malignancy, with a 5-year survival rate of approximately 47%, a number that has remained constant over the past two decades. Early diagnosis improves survival, but u...

    Authors: Sara Moufarrij, Monica Dandapani, Elisa Arthofer, Stephanie Gomez, Aneil Srivastava, Micael Lopez-Acevedo, Alejandro Villagra and Katherine B. Chiappinelli
    Citation: Clinical Epigenetics 2019 11:7
    Content type: Review Published on:

  3. In the present study, we investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying the pro-apoptotic effects of quercetin (Qu) by evaluating the effect of Qu treatment on DNA methylation and posttranslational histone m...

    Authors: Marisa Claudia Alvarez, Victor Maso, Cristiane Okuda Torello, Karla Priscilla Ferro and Sara Teresinha Olalla Saad
    Citation: Clinical Epigenetics 2018 10:139
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. Several independent research groups have shown that alterations in human sperm methylation profiles correlate with decreased fecundity and an increased risk of poor embryo development. Moving these initial fin...

    Authors: Mohammad Abbasi, Andrew D. Smith, Harish Swaminathan, Peer Sangngern, Amanda Douglas, Alan Horsager, Douglas T. Carrell and Philip J. Uren
    Citation: Clinical Epigenetics 2018 10:119
    Content type: Research Published on:

  5. Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a very rare and highly aggressive cancer of the pleura associated in most cases with asbestos exposure. To date, no really efficient treatments are available for this pa...

    Authors: Douae Bensaid, Thibaut Blondy, Sophie Deshayes, Virginie Dehame, Philippe Bertrand, Marc Grégoire, Mohammed Errami and Christophe Blanquart
    Citation: Clinical Epigenetics 2018 10:79
    Content type: Research Published on:

  7. Studies of genes that play an important role in the development of obesity are needed, especially studies focusing on genes that regulate food intake and affect nutrient metabolism. For example, the beta-3 adr...

    Authors: Raquel Patrícia Ataíde Lima, Rayner Anderson Ferreira do Nascimento, Rafaella Cristhine Pordeus Luna, Darlene Camati Persuhn, Alexandre Sérgio da Silva, Maria da Conceição Rodrigues Gonçalves, Alessio Tony Cavalcanti de Almeida, Ronei Marcos de Moraes, Eliseu Verly Junior, Emmanuelle Fouilloux-Meugnier, Hubert Vidal, Luciano Pirola, Marciane Magnani, Naila Francis Paulo de Oliveira, Patrícia Oliveira Prada and Maria José de Carvalho Costa
    Citation: Clinical Epigenetics 2017 9:110
    Content type: Research Published on:

  8. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most prevalent cancer worldwide with rates of HPV-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) dramatically increasing. The overexpression o...

    Authors: Cameron D. Lindsay, Morris A. Kostiuk, Jeff Harris, Daniel A. O’Connell, Hadi Seikaly and Vincent L. Biron
    Citation: Clinical Epigenetics 2017 9:95
    Content type: Research Published on:

  10. Many conventional chemotherapeutic drugs are known to be involved in DNA damage, thus ultimately leading to apoptosis of leukemic cells. However, they fail to completely eliminate leukemia stem cells (LSCs) du...

    Authors: Yin Li, Yan Wang, Yong Zhou, Jie Li, Kai Chen, Leisi Zhang, Manman Deng, Suqi Deng, Peng Li and Bing Xu
    Citation: Clinical Epigenetics 2017 9:83
    Content type: Research Published on:

  11. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic relapsing–remitting autoimmune disease with highly heterogeneous phenotypes. Biomarkers with high sensitivity and specificity are useful for early diagnosis as w...

    Authors: Zijun Wang, Christopher Chang, Mou Peng and Qianjin Lu
    Citation: Clinical Epigenetics 2017 9:78
    Content type: Review Published on:

  13. Dysregulation in post-translational modifications of histones and their modifiers are now well-recognized as a hallmark of cancer and can be used as biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for disease pro...

    Authors: Divya Reddy, Bharat Khade, Riddhi Pandya and Sanjay Gupta
    Citation: Clinical Epigenetics 2017 9:30
    Content type: Methodology Published on:

  14. Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematological malignancy, which remains incurable because most patients eventually relapse or become refractory to current treatments. Due to heterogeneity within the cancer cell mic...

    Authors: Mark E. Issa, Farnaz Sedigheh Takhsha, Chandra Sekhar Chirumamilla, Claudina Perez-Novo, Wim Vanden Berghe and Muriel Cuendet
    Citation: Clinical Epigenetics 2017 9:17
    Content type: Review Published on:

  15. In the presence of different environmental cues that are able to trigger specific responses, a given genotype has the ability to originate a variety of different phenotypes. This property is defined as plastic...

    Authors: T. A. L. Brevini, G. Pennarossa, E. F. M. Manzoni, C. E. Gandolfi, A. Zenobi and F. Gandolfi
    Citation: Clinical Epigenetics 2016 8:119
    Content type: Review Published on:

  16. Refractory and/or relapsed diffuse large B cell lymphoma (RR-DLBCL) patients are incurable with conventional chemotherapy due to the aggressiveness and the chemorefractory state of these tumors. DNA hypermethy...

    Authors: Benet Pera, Tiffany Tang, Rossella Marullo, Shao-Ning Yang, Haelee Ahn, Jayeshkumar Patel, Rebecca Elstrom, Jia Ruan, Richard Furman, John Leonard, Leandro Cerchietti and Peter Martin
    Citation: Clinical Epigenetics 2016 8:79
    Content type: Research Published on:

  17. The azanucleosides azacitidine and decitabine are currently used for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) in patients not only eligible for intensive chemotherapy b...

    Authors: Jeannine Diesch, Anabel Zwick, Anne-Kathrin Garz, Anna Palau, Marcus Buschbeck and Katharina S. Götze
    Citation: Clinical Epigenetics 2016 8:71
    Content type: Review Published on:

  18. Aberrant DNA methylation has been identified as a key molecular event regulating the pathogenesis of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS); myeloid neoplasms with an inherent risk of transformation to acute myeloid ...

    Authors: Seongseok Yun, Nicole D. Vincelette, Ivo Abraham, Keith D. Robertson, Martin E. Fernandez-Zapico and Mrinal M. Patnaik
    Citation: Clinical Epigenetics 2016 8:68
    Content type: Review Published on:

  19. Ultraviolet-B (UVB) exposure attributes to the formation of age-related nuclear cataract (ARNC), which is mediated with DNA damage. DNA damage, an important factor for pathogenesis of ARNC, is induced by UVB, ...

    Authors: Yong Wang, Fei Li, Guowei Zhang, Lihua Kang and Huaijin Guan
    Citation: Clinical Epigenetics 2016 8:62
    Content type: Research Published on:

  20. Sirtuins are NAD+-dependent histone deacetylases regulating important metabolic pathways in prokaryotes and eukaryotes and are involved in many biological processes such as cell survival, senescence, proliferatio...

    Authors: Vincenzo Carafa, Dante Rotili, Mariantonietta Forgione, Francesca Cuomo, Enrica Serretiello, Gebremedhin Solomon Hailu, Elina Jarho, Maija Lahtela-Kakkonen, Antonello Mai and Lucia Altucci
    Citation: Clinical Epigenetics 2016 8:61
    Content type: Review Published on:

  21. Epigenetic treatment has been approved by regulatory agencies for haematological malignancies. The success observed in cutaneous lymphomas represents a proof of principle that similar results may be obtained i...

    Authors: Clara Nervi, Elisabetta De Marinis and Giovanni Codacci-Pisanelli
    Citation: Clinical Epigenetics 2015 7:127
    Content type: Review Published on:

  22. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has been generally considered a genetic disease (disorder) with an aggressive tumor entity of highly proliferative malignant lymphoid cells. However, in recent years, signifi...

    Authors: Cheng Zhang, Jiang F. Zhong, Andres Stucky, Xue-Lian Chen, Michael F. Press and Xi Zhang
    Citation: Clinical Epigenetics 2015 7:117
    Content type: Review Published on:

  23. Given the implication of histone acetylation in memory processes, histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) have been postulated as potential modulators of cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Howev...

    Authors: M. Cuadrado-Tejedor, C. Garcia-Barroso, J. Sanzhez-Arias, S. Mederos, O. Rabal, A. Ugarte, R. Franco, M. Pascual-Lucas, V. Segura, G. Perea, J. Oyarzabal and A. Garcia-Osta
    Citation: Clinical Epigenetics 2015 7:108
    Content type: Research Published on:

Clinical Epigenetics

ISSN: 1868-7083

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