ArticleCell2015
Inhibiting DNA Methylation Causes an Interferon Response in Cancer via dsRNA Including Endogenous Retroviruses.
Article in Cell, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to trial NCT03941496 (Phase 1b/2a Safety and Immunogenicity of the DNMT Inhibitor Azacitidine During Anti-Tuberculosis Therapy), which is not on this map. Cited by 1,199 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Phase 1b/2a Safety and Immunogenicity of the DNMT Inhibitor Azacitidine During Anti-Tuberculosis Therapy
Who cites it
1,199 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 1,943 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Beyond oncogenesis: the unexplored benefits of viruses in cancer immunity.Nature reviews. Cancer · 2026Review
- Loss of cellular RNA homeostasis contributes to MDA5 activation during virus infection.Nature immunology · 2026Article
- Triptolide sensitizes cancer cells to nucleoside DNA methyltransferase inhibitors through inhibition of DCTPP1-mediated cell-intrinsic resistance.Nature communications · 2026Article
- The dual roles of lysine-specific demethylase 1 (KDM1A/LSD1) in the modulation of tumor immune microenvironment and its inhibitors in colorectal cancer.Journal of molecular medicine (Berlin, Germany) · 2026Review
1,139 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Erratum issuedInhibiting DNA Methylation Causes an Interferon Response in Cancer via dsRNA Including Endogenous Retroviruses.2016 · Buhu, Sadna [corrected to Budhu, Sadna]; Mergoub, Taha [corrected to Merghoub, Taha]
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
23 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
We show that DNA methyltransferase inhibitors (DNMTis) upregulate immune signaling in cancer through the viral defense pathway. In ovarian cancer (OC), DNMTis trigger cytosolic sensing of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) causing a type I interferon response and apoptosis. Knocking down dsRNA sensors TLR3 and MAVS reduces this response 2-fold and blocking interferon beta or its receptor abrogates it. Upregulation of hypermethylated endogenous retrovirus (ERV) genes accompanies the response and ERV overexpression activates the response. Basal levels of ERV and viral defense gene expression significantly correlate in primary OC and the latter signature separates primary samples for multiple tumor types from The Cancer Genome Atlas into low versus high expression groups. In melanoma patients treated with an immune checkpoint therapy, high viral defense signature expression in tumors significantly associates with durable clinical response and DNMTi treatment sensitizes to anti-CTLA4 therapy in a pre-clinical melanoma model.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.