DNA Methylation News and Research

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DNA methylation is a type of chemical modification of DNA that can be inherited and subsequently removed without changing the original DNA sequence. As such, it is part of the epigenetic code and is also the most well characterized epigenetic mechanism.

New drug inhibits growth of the most aggressive meningiomas

When a specific non-metastatic brain tumor — a meningioma — recurs after surgery and radiation treatment, a patient is normally out of options. No drugs are approved for these aggressive tumors, which occur in up to 20 percent of cases and can lead to patient disability or even death.

16 May 2022

Epigenetic abnormalities in hematopoietic cells during fetal development cause idiopathic autism

An international research group led by Professor Toru Takumi (Senior Visiting Scientist, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research) and Researcher Chia-wen Lin at Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine has shown that idiopathic autism is caused by epigenetic abnormalities in hematopoietic cells during fetal development, which results in immune dysregulation in the brain and gut.

2 May 2022

Evidence of accelerated epigenetic age in SARS-CoV-2-positive patients

Researchers assessed the epigenetic aging in COVID-19 patients and its impact on COVID-19 severity by a genome-wide deoxyribonucleic acid methylation profiling analysis.

27 Apr 2022

'Epigenetic age' can predict performance on cognitive tests later in life

Epigenetic markers of cognitive aging can predict performance on cognitive tests later in life, according to a study published in the journal Aging.

20 Apr 2022

Researchers identify certain gene regulation signatures in CAR T-resistant leukemia patients

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells from patients whose cancers did not respond to CD19-targeted CAR T therapy had gene regulation signatures that could potentially facilitate treatment resistance, according to results presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2022, held April 8-13.

13 Apr 2022

B-cells have significant differences in women with postpartum depression, finds study

A study published in Molecular Psychiatry is the first to look at multiple levels of biology within women with postpartum depression (PPD) to see how women with the condition differ from those without it.

10 Apr 2022

Research illuminates why immune disorders affect only one of two identical twins

Scientists have long queried the causes of immune disorders in only one of two identical twins with identical genes. New research from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute in Spain and their collaborators, has found the answer lies in both alterations in immune cell-cell communication and the epigenome, the host of biological processes that regulate how our genes function.

1 Apr 2022

Tuberculosis perturbs epigenetic processes to promote premature cellular aging

Tuberculosis (TB) is a potentially serious infectious disease caused by a type of bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

24 Mar 2022

Study explores dictionary learning-based bridge integration method for data harmonization of single-cell analysis

In a new study, researchers developed and elucidated a ‘bridge integration’ method to harmonize single-cell ribonucleic acid sequencing datasets.

1 Mar 2022

Study shows the impact of gender-affirming hormone therapy on epigenetic signature of genes

Gender-affirming hormone therapy could influence the way a person's genes are turned on or off, according to a new study.

28 Feb 2022

Traditional Chinese medicine can be an effective radiosensitizer for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), a group of cancers that originate in the nose and throat, is made complicated by their unique position. Radiation therapy is often the main curative treatment for NPC. However, some patients are resistant to radiation therapy.

25 Feb 2022

Research shows alterations in transfer RNAs at the epigenetic level in cancer

A recently published paper in the journal Molecular Cancer by the group of Dr. Manel Esteller, Director of the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, ICREA Research Professor and Genetics Chairman at the University of Barcelona, shows that transfer RNAs for certain amino acids are altered at the epigenetic level in some types of cancer, expressing it in an exaggerated manner in some cases and being deficient in others.

17 Feb 2022

Epigenetic effects of pollutants may persist long enough to influence the evolutionary process

A new study led by University of Liverpool researchers has shown that the effects of pollutants can be transmitted over many generations in water fleas and may persist long enough to influence the evolutionary process.

10 Feb 2022

Novel immune-profiling method offers a powerful alternative to conventional flow cytometry

Flow cytometry is a powerful and complex technology used to count, sort or measure characteristics of cells and to detect biomarkers.

9 Feb 2022

Novel test uses cervical screening samples to detect breast and ovarian cancer

A new revolutionary test for detecting ovarian and breast cancer, which could potentially measure future cancer risk, is being developed by researchers from UCL's Institute for Women's Health.

2 Feb 2022

Study helps understand how smoking can lead to an increased risk of heart attacks

Smoking cigarettes may increase the risk of a heart attack by activating a gene that affects blood clotting, according to a new study by scientists at the University of Bristol.

26 Jan 2022

New pathways responsible for hepatocellular carcinoma identified

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer. It is one of leading causes of cancer-related deaths globally, with more than 700,000 new cases and 600,000 estimated HCC deaths each year.

18 Jan 2022

Study finds blunted cortisol profiles in women who experienced childhood sexual abuse

Childhood sexual abuse can lead to depression, anxiety, cardiovascular disease and other health problems later in life. Not all abused children experience these problems, however, and researchers are working to understand whose health is affected and why.

13 Jan 2022

Folic acid-like drug reprograms DNA methylome of aggressive brain tumors

A folic acid-like drug, L-methylfolate, when administered alongside the standard therapy for patients with recurrent glioblastoma, changed aDNA process within their brain tumors, according to results from a phase 1 clinical trial.

5 Jan 2022

Research provides compelling insights into the complex nature of genomic imprinting in mice

Mammalian offspring inherit two versions, or alleles, of each gene with one allele from each biological parent. However, gene expression is tightly regulated and certain genes undergo the phenomenon of "genomic imprinting", which is where only the allele received by the male or the female parent is expressed.

4 Jan 2022