ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the complex interplay between epigenetic and metabolic alterations in cancer cells. It discusses the molecular mechanism(s) that mediate their interaction and how the interactions could be therapeutically targeted to inhibit cancer initiation and progression. The chapter focuses on studies published over the past three years to provide a timely update to our previously published review on this subject. Emerging studies have revealed that epigenetic regulation of gene expression and cellular metabolism are highly intertwined. Epigenetic regulation of gene expression comprises a multitude of mechanisms, including DNA methylation, histone modifications and non-coding RNAs. An alteration in cellular metabolism is a fundamental property of cancer cells that enables them to meet the high metabolic demands of continued proliferation, despite the limited resources within the hostile tumor microenvironment. The epigenome is tightly regulated by the action of epigenetic modification enzymes. The reactions that they catalyze often require appropriate levels of substrates or essential cofactors.
