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.

Epigenomics receives FDA approval for Epi proColon®

Epigenomics AG, the German-American cancer molecular diagnostics company, has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Company’s lead product, Epi proColon®, the first and only FDA-approved blood-based colorectal cancer screening test.

14 Apr 2016

Newcastle scientists develop new type of genetic blood test to diagnose liver scarring

Newcastle scientists and medics have developed a new type of genetic blood test that diagnoses scarring in the liver - even before someone may feel ill.

11 Apr 2016

Lund researchers discover new biomarker that can predict type 2 diabetes risk

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have found a new type of biomarker that can predict the risk of type 2 diabetes, by detecting epigenetic changes in specific genes through a simple blood test. The results are published today in Nature Communications.

2 Apr 2016

Southampton researchers link birth season epigenetic DNA marks to allergic disease

Researchers at the University of Southampton have discovered specific markers on DNA that link the season of birth to risk of allergy in later life.

22 Mar 2016

Absence of PEMT enzyme leads to development of fatty liver disease and tumours in thin patients

Researchers observe protection against obesity and insulin resistance but at the cost of prominent fatty liver disease in mice lacking the PEMT enzyme and patients with low levels of PEMT.

7 Mar 2016

TSRI's Courtney Miller to receive Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers

Courtney Miller, associate professor on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute, has been selected to receive a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on young professionals at the outset of their independent research careers.

19 Feb 2016

Northwestern Medicine study identifies new cancer predictor

Epigenetic age is a new way to measure your biological age. When your biological (epigenetic) age is older than your chronological age, you are at increased risk for getting and dying of cancer, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.

18 Feb 2016

Some heart disease drugs, antibiotics show promising perspectives in treating cancers

North American researchers have identified drugs that showed promising perspectives in treating cancers, according to a recent study published in Cancer Research.

9 Feb 2016

Study reveals association between DNA methylation and type 2 diabetes

Researchers from the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute have found an epigenetic mechanism implicated in the regulation of blood sugar. The study, published in the journal Molecular Human Genetics, reveals that the methylation of the TXNIP gene is associated with diabetes mellitus type 2 and, in particular, average blood glucose levels.

8 Feb 2016

Prenatal stress affects babies' health in war-torn areas

Children from war-torn areas of the globe are affected by trauma even before they are born, according to a new University of Florida study.

3 Feb 2016

Maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation leads to epigenetic changes in offspring

As the study shows, a high-fat diet during pregnancy and lactation leads to epigenetic changes in the offspring. These changes affect metabolic pathways regulated by the gut hormone GIP, whereby the adult offspring are more susceptible to obesity and insulin resistance, the precursor to type 2 diabetes. Similar mechanisms cannot be ruled out in humans, according to Pfeiffer.

2 Feb 2016

UCL-led researchers find way to assess viability of induced pluripotent stem cells

A research team led by scientists from UCL have found a way to assess the viability of 'manufactured' stem cells known as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Published today in Nature Communications, the team's discovery offers a new way to fast-track screening methods used in stem cell research.

30 Jan 2016

Multinational study suggests new way to classify gliomas

A comprehensive analysis of the molecular characteristics of gliomas—the most common malignant brain tumor—explains why some patients diagnosed with slow-growing (low-grade) tumors quickly succumb to the disease while others with more aggressive (high-grade) tumors survive for many years.

29 Jan 2016

Study provides detailed new information about diffuse glioma

An international collaborative study has revealed detailed new information about diffuse glioma, the most common type of tumor found in some 80 percent of adult brain cancer patients, raising hopes that better understanding of these disease groups may aid improved clinical outcomes.

29 Jan 2016

DNA imprinting defect may affect children diagnosed with osteosarcoma

Children diagnosed with osteosarcoma may be impacted by a DNA imprinting defect also found in parents, according to new research from the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota. DNA imprinting is a phenomenon in which just one of the two inherited genes is active while the other is present but inactive.

27 Jan 2016

MDxHealth recognized with 2015 Global Frost & Sullivan Award for Technology Innovation

Based on its recent analysis of the prostate cancer diagnostics market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes MDxHealth with the 2015 Global Frost & Sullivan Award for Technology Innovation. To advance molecular diagnostic tests for urological cancers, MDxHealth supplemented its prostate cancer test, ConfirmMDx, with a urine-based "liquid-biopsy" test called SelectMDx.

21 Jan 2016

Researchers reveal totally new biological mechanism that underlies cancer

In a landmark study, researchers from the Broad Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital reveal a completely new biological mechanism that underlies cancer. By studying brain tumors that carry mutations in the isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) genes, the team uncovered some unusual changes in the instructions for how the genome folds up on itself.

13 Jan 2016

IMB scientists identify two proteins vital for demethylation of DNA

Scientists at the Institute of Molecular Biology in Mainz have identified a missing piece of the puzzle in understanding how epigenetic marks are removed from DNA. The research on DNA demethylation sheds new light on a fundamental process that is important in development and diseases such as cancer.

12 Jan 2016

New study sheds light on the molecular basis of memory and learning

The brain still harbours many unknowns. Basically, it is assumed that it stores experiences by altering the connections between brain cells. This ability to adapt - which is also called "plasticity" - provides the basis for memory and learning, which is the ability to draw conclusions from memories. On a molecular scale these changes are mediated by modifications of expression of specific genes that as required strengthen or weaken the connections between the brain cells.

18 Dec 2015

TET proteins needed to maintain genome instability, say researchers

Members of the TET (short for ten-eleven translocation) family have been known to function as tumor suppressors for many years, but how they keep a lid on the uncontrolled cell proliferation of cancer cells had remained uncertain. Now, researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology demonstrate that TET proteins collectively constitute a major class of tumor suppressors and are required to maintain genome instability.

9 Dec 2015