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    Epigenetics tagged posts

    Unexpected Role for Epigenetic Enzymes in Cancer

    January 6, 2017, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    KDM5s are involved in selection of polyA sites. (A) Western blot and (B) RT-qPCR analyses of MCF7 cells treated with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or 10 μM KDM5-C70 for 3 days. The ratio of 3′UTR to CDS for CCND1 mRNA was plotted. Error bars represent SEM for biological triplicate experiments. (C) Western blot and (D) RT-qPCR analyses of HeLa cells treated with DMSO or 10 μM KDM5-C70 for 3 days. The ratio of 3′UTR to CDS for DICER1 mRNA was plotted. Error bars represent SEM for biological triplicate experiments. **P < 0.01. (E) RT-qPCR analysis of HeLa/iCas9-c1 cells transduced with lentiviruses carrying single-guide RNAs against KDM5A, KDM5B, KDM5C, or nontargeting control. The ratio of 3′UTR to CDS for DICER1 mRNA was plotted. KO, knockout. Error bars represent SEM for biological triplicate experiments. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01. (F) Working model for KDM5 involvement in APA. KDM5 recruits the polyA machinery to nascent RNA to modulate polyA site choices. Demethylation or hydroxylation of certain subunits of the polyA machinery by KDM5 also contributes to selection of the polyA sites. The polyA sites (dashes) are noted on the nascent transcript.

    KDM5s are involved in selection of polyA sites. (A) Western blot and (B) RT-qPCR analyses of MCF7 cells treated with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or 10 μM KDM5-C70 for 3 days. The ratio of 3′UTR to CDS for CCND1 mRNA was plotted. Error bars represent SEM for biological triplicate experiments. (C) Western blot and (D) RT-qPCR analyses of HeLa cells treated with DMSO or 10 μM KDM5-C70 for 3 days. The ratio of 3′UTR to CDS for DICER1 mRNA was plotted. Error bars represent SEM for biological triplicate experiments. **P < 0.01. (E) RT-qPCR analysis of HeLa/iCas9-c1 cells transduced with lentiviruses carrying single-guide RNAs against KDM5A, KDM5B, KDM5C, or nontargeting control. The ratio of 3′UTR to CDS for DICER1 mRNA was plotted. KO, knockout...

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    Missing Link in Epigenetics could explain Conundrum of Disease Inheritance

    July 7, 2016, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    When offspring are in the womb, what their mothers experience environmentally (for example, diet, stress, smoking), influences the attributes of offspring when they are adults. This 'developmental programming' is understood to be a large contributor to the obesity epidemic seen today. Credit: © highwaystarz / Fotolia

    When offspring are in the womb, what their mothers experience environmentally (for example, diet, stress, smoking), influences the attributes of offspring when they are adults. This ‘developmental programming’ is understood to be a large contributor to the obesity epidemic seen today. Credit: © highwaystarz / Fotolia

    The process by which a mother’s diet during pregnancy can permanently affect her offspring’s attributes, such as weight, could be strongly influenced by genetic variation in an unexpected part of the genome, according to research led by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). The discovery could shed light on why many human genetic studies have previously not been able to fully explain how certain diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and obesity, are inherited.

    The study shows g...

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    New RNA letter regulates Gene Expression

    February 17, 2016, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    m1A occurs in GC-rich sequence contexts and in genes with structured 5′ UTRs.

    m1A occurs in GC-rich sequence contexts and in genes with structured 5′ UTRs.

    Discovery brings RNA to the fore of epigenetics. A new study finds that RNA, DNA template for protein translation, often appears with an extra letter – and this letter is the regulatory key for control of gene expression. The discovery offers insight into different RNA functions in cellular processes and contributions to the development of disease.

    “Epigenetics, the regulation of gene expression beyond the primary information encoded by DNA, was thought until recently to be mediated by modifications of proteins and DNA,” said Prof. Gidi Rechavi. “The new findings bring RNA to a central position in epigenetics.”

    The number of modified nucleotides (letters) in RNA is 10X larger than that of the letters found in D...

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    What your Father Ate before you were Born could Influence your Health

    December 6, 2015, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Father feeding child (stock image). Credit: © YakobchukOlena / Fotolia

    Father feeding child (stock image). Credit: © YakobchukOlena / Fotolia

    A new study sheds light on how. Researchers in Associate Professor Romain Barrès’ laboratory compared sperm cells from 13 lean men and 10 obese men and discovered that the sperm cells in lean and obese men, respectively, possess different epigenetic marks that could alter the next generation’s appetite, as reported in the medical journal Cell Metabolism.

    A second major discovery was made as researchers followed 6 men before and 1 year after gastric-bypass surgery to find out how the surgery affected the epigenetic information contained in their sperm cells. The researchers observed an average of 4,000 structural changes to sperm cell DNA from the time before surgery, directly after, and 1 year later.

    “We certainly nee...

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