New drugs are being developed that decrease DNA methylation and prevent the removal of acetyl groups from histone proteins. Explain how these drugs could affect gene expression to help kill tumor cells

Methylation is a method of controlling gene expression.

Histone methylation is purely position-based, which means it can either turn off or turn on the gene depending on the position of the amino acid on which the methylation has occurred.

Tumor suppressor genes and their expression are turned off in cancer cells, while oncogenes are activated. Reversing these turned off genes can be accomplished through the addition of histone acetylation or the removal of DNA methylation.

The removal of DNA methylation and activation of histone acetylation causes the nucleosomes to be loosely packed. This causes transcription factors to bind to DNA and the expression of tumor suppressor genes, which can kill tumor cells. These new drugs work in a similar way, aiding in the death of tumor cells.