Education:
BSc 1969 Biochemistry - University College of Rhodesia
PhD 1973 Biochemistry - University of London
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship:
1973-1975 Children's Hospital Los Angeles, California
Started at USC: 1977
Research Topics: Cancer Genetics, Cancer Cell Biology, DNA & RNA, DNA Replication, Repair, Modification, Epigenetics
Research Description
Cytosine methylation is essential for normal mammalian development yet contributes substantially to the development of human cancer The function of cytosine methylation is not completely understood but it is thought to be part of a mechanism to silence genes in a heritable fashion. Alterations in this silencing mechanism can contribute to the heritable inactivation of tumor suppressor genes thus contributing to the malignant phenotype.
My laboratory studies DNA methylation in human cancer.We are focused on the biochemical mechanisms by which cytosine methylation patterns are changed particularly with respect to the cell cycle and in determining how this process is involved in the transformation of human cells. We are interested in fundamental aspects of the control of DNA methylation as it relates to the de novo methylation of the promoter regions of tumor suppressor genes. This epigenetic mechanism by which tumor suppressor genes can be inactivated may be an important pathway which contributes to carcinogenesis in a wide variety of tumors.
Selected Publications
Gal-Yam EN, Saito Y, Egger G, Jones PA. - Cancer epigenetics: modifications, screening, and therapy. - Annu Rev Med [ 2008 ] 59:267-80 . PubMed
George B, Datar RH, Wu L, Cai J, Patten N, Beil SJ, Groshen S, Stein J, Skinner D, Jones PA, Cote RJ. - p53 gene and protein status: the role of p53 alterations in predicting outcome in patients with bladder cancer. - J Clin Oncol [ 2007 ] Dec 1;25(34):5352-8 . PubMed
Grønbaek K, Hother C, Jones PA. - Epigenetic changes in cancer. - APMIS [ 2007 ] Oct;115(10):1039-59 . PubMed
Lin JC, Jeong S, Liang G, Takai D, Fatemi M, Tsai YC, Egger G, Gal-Yam EN, Jones PA. - Role of nucleosomal occupancy in the epigenetic silencing of the MLH1 CpG island. - Cancer Cell [ 2007 ] Nov;12(5):432-44 . PubMed
Miranda TB, Jones PA. - DNA methylation: the nuts and bolts of repression. - J Cell Physiol [ 2007 ] Nov;213(2):384-90 . PubMed
Yoo CB, Jeong S, Egger G, Liang G, Phiasivongsa P, Tang C, Redkar S, Jones PA. - Delivery of 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine to cells using oligodeoxynucleotides. - Cancer Res [ 2007 ] Jul 1;67(13):6400-8 . PubMed
Chuang JC, Jones PA. - Epigenetics and microRNAs. - Pediatr Res [ 2007 ] May;61(5 Pt 2):24R-29R . PubMed
Egger G, Aparicio AM, Escobar SG, Jones PA. - Inhibition of histone deacetylation does not block resilencing of p16 after 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine treatment. - Cancer Res [ 2007 ] Jan 1;67(1):346-53 . PubMed
Saito Y, Jones PA. - Epigenetic activation of tumor suppressor microRNAs in human cancer cells. - Cell Cycle [ 2006 ] Oct;5(19):2220-2 . PubMed
Jia L, Shen HC, Wantroba M, Khalid O, Liang G, Wang Q, Gentzschein E, Pinski JK, Stanczyk FZ, Jones PA, Coetzee GA. - Locus-wide chromatin remodeling and enhanced androgen receptor-mediated transcription in recurrent prostate tumor cells. - Mol Cell Biol [ 2006 ] Oct;26(19):7331-41 . PubMed
