EpiGenie Newsletter - 2024, Issue No. 4
Ever get that feeling that you forgot something? Well maybe you did, but it doesn't have to be recent epigenetics research if you scope out our headlines each week.
15 May, 2024?
DNA methylation, whether in cells or in a cell-free environment, is one of the most powerful and most studied epigenetic regulators of gene expression and genomic organization. This is true for nearly all organisms, leading to the emergence of numerous methods for mapping 5-mC and 5-hmC and other modification states. There are many approaches for studying DNA methylation, with new mechanisms of action being published as quickly as we can keep up, along with streamlined and potentially more cost-effective means of analysis. Here we take a look at some particularly interesting recent publications on both the new mechanisms and new methods being reported in this field.
Epigenetics has moved into the driver’s seat. In a first-of-its-kind study, a talented team show that knocking down?polycomb?group proteins in?Drosophila?causes tumors to form, and bringing the proteins back doesn’t fix it. The finding demonstrates that transient epigenetic changes can irreversibly drive cancer—without genetic mutations. ?
Certain concepts – the speed of light, the electron’s charge, or the need to change cell media at the weekend – represent common constants in life. Many add the constant decay associated with the aging process to this list; however, analysis of?DNA methylationin the mouse intestine now reveals that the aging process may not be as “linear” as once thought and that we may?age?in stages!
Scientists have longed to use “The Force” – provided by intracellular entities known as?midichlorians?– to help around the lab; now, an?epigenetic?alliance reports that an intracellular fibroblast component –?Histone H1.0?– uses?The Force?and orchestrates cell mechanics when facing Sith-like evils such as physical/chemical stressors. The force is strong with histone H1.0!
Our mothers might be onto something when they jokingly blame us for their gray hair and wrinkles. In two recent studies,?DNA methylation-based?epigenetic clocks?show that pregnancy, with its far-ranging emotional and physical changes, increases the biological ages of mothers. On the bright side, the effects were reversible in those who breastfed, according to one of the studies. ? The Biological Cost of Pregnancy ? Buying a crib, diapers, and other necessities can rack up the bills, but preparing for baby also has a biological cost. A hint of this was born last year when a group?analyzed DNA methylation with epigenetic clocks?before and after several stressful conditions. They reported that pregnancy boosted biological age in mice and in a sample of 14 women, but the effect was transient—it reversed when the pup or baby was born. ? To multiply their understanding of this process,?Calen Ryan?et al.?(Columbia University) studied a group of 825 women and 910 men born in the same year in the Philippines. About 40% of the 21-year-old women had been pregnant at least once before the study started. The team tested blood samples for DNA methylation and analyzed the data with six epigenetic clocks. Here’s what they found:
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Has searching for ncRNAs left you?needing forty winks? Maybe take a short rest and?dream-a-little-dream, but?don’t sleep?on a brand new technique known as napRNA sequencing or?NAP-seq, which represents a wake-up call to the epigenetics field by providing the ability to describe novel classes of human regulatory?non-coding or ncRNAs! Wakey-wakey!
?New to the field and want to get up to speed quick? Take a dive into the Learning Center which contains tons of epigenetics background information, profiles of key epigenetic readers, writers, and erasers, plus a useful an ever expanding compilation of useful tools and databases. Check out these highlighted articles:?
Key Epigenetic Players:?Check out our overview of the key epigenetic modifications that play a big role in gene regulation, development, and disease, as well as the proteins that are responsible for reading, writing, and erasing the epigenome.
Epigenetics Tools and Databases (Updated!):?Tools, where would humankind be without them? The EpiGenie team decided to search out and compile a list of the best tools and databases that epigenetics researchers can’t live without.
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?| 05 JUN 2024?
FASEB: Ubiquitin and Ub-like Proteins?| 09 JUN 2024
Genomics and Systems Biology of Human Disease and Aging?| 22 JUN 2024
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