{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\nRecent studies have highlighted the discovery of PRAC2, a novel gene found adjacent to the prostate‐specific PRAC gene on chromosome 17q21.3. PRAC2, like its neighboring gene, exhibits a distinctive expression profile that is largely confined to the human prostate, prostate cancer, rectum, and distal colon. Although its precise molecular function has yet to be fully determined, the restricted tissue expression pattern suggests that PRAC2 may play an important role in regulating local gene expression and maintaining tissue homeostasis in these organs."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n\n"}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\nIn a parallel line of investigation into gene regulation in cancer, dysregulation of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) has emerged as a key mechanism in tumor development. For example, the lncRNA HOXB13‐AS1 is significantly upregulated in glioma, where it enhances cell proliferation and tumor growth by promoting cell cycle progression. Mechanistically, HOXB13‐AS1 facilitates DNMT3B-mediated methylation of the adjacent HOXB13 promoter through interaction with the histone methyltransferase EZH2, thereby epigenetically suppressing HOXB13 expression."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "2"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n\n"}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\nTogether, these findings underscore the emerging concept that spatially clustered genes and their regulatory noncoding elements can orchestrate tissue-specific programs and oncogenic processes. While the glioma study provides a clear example of how lncRNA-mediated chromatin modifications drive tumor progression, the identification of PRAC2 with its prostate and colorectal tissue–specific expression hints at a similarly pivotal, although as yet undefined, role in the regulation of local gene networks. Further research integrating insights from both epigenetic and tissue-specific expression studies may eventually uncover the biological significance of PRAC2 in normal physiology and in disease states such as cancer."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Pär Olsson, Akira Motegi, Tapan K Bera, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "PRAC2: a new gene expressed in human prostate and prostate cancer."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Prostate (2003)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1002/pros.10185"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1002/pros.10185"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "12746837"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12746837"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Yu Xiong, Wei Kuang, Shigang Lu, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Long noncoding RNA HOXB13-AS1 regulates HOXB13 gene methylation by interacting with EZH2 in glioma."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cancer Med (2018)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1002/cam4.1718"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.1718"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "30105866"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30105866"}]}]}]}