Histones News and Research

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Study: Obesity causes changes in colon that may lead to colorectal cancer

Obesity, rather than diet, causes changes in the colon that may lead to colorectal cancer, according to a study in mice by the National Institutes of Health. The finding bolsters the recommendation that calorie control and frequent exercise are not only key to a healthy lifestyle, but a strategy to lower the risk for colon cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States.

2 Apr 2014

Scientists unlock one of mysteries of modern genetics

Scientists at Indiana University have unlocked one of the mysteries of modern genetics: how acquired traits can be passed between generations in a process called epigenetic inheritance. The new work finds that cells don't know to silence some genes based on information hardwired into their DNA sequences, but recognize heritable chemical marks that are added to the genes. These chemical tags serve as a form of molecular memory, allowing cells to recognize the genes and remember to silence them again in each new generation.

21 Mar 2014

Researchers identify high-speed cellular transport mechanism

Our DNA and its architecture are duplicated every time our cells divide. Histone proteins are key building blocks of this architecture and contain crucial information that regulates our genes. Danish researchers show how an enzyme controls reliable and high-speed delivery of histones to DNA copying hubs in our cells. This shuttling mechanism is crucial to maintain normal function of our genes and prevent disease. The results are published in the journal Nature Communications.

6 Mar 2014

Scientists uncover key mechanism of gene regulation

In the cells of humans and other organisms, only a subset of genes are active at any given time, depending largely on the stage of life and the particular duties of the cell. Cells use different molecular mechanisms to orchestrate the activation and deactivation of genes as needed.

3 Mar 2014

Researchers develop new technology that reveals secrets of cellular memory

Cells in our body are constantly dividing to maintain our body functions. At each division, our DNA code and a whole machinery of supporting components has to be faithfully duplicated to maintain the cell's memory of its own identity.

25 Feb 2014

Researcher receives 2014 Japan Prize in Life Sciences for extraordinary work in the field of epigenetics

C. David Allis, a pioneer in the field of epigenetics whose discovery that chemical modifications of DNA-packaging proteins play a key role in regulating the activity of individual genes, will be awarded the 2014 Japan Prize in Life Sciences. The announcement, by the Japan Prize Foundation, was made at a press conference in Tokyo this morning.

29 Jan 2014

UPV/EHU-University study shows that weekend alcohol consumption may affect DNA

A preliminary study led by a UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country researcher in collaboration with the Autonomous University of Nayarit, in Mexico, indicates that weekend alcohol consumption may affect DNA.

30 Dec 2013

Circulating nucleosomes and colorectal cancer diagnostics: an interview with Dr. Stefan Holdenrieder, University Hospital Bonn

For my MD thesis I modified and evaluated an immunological assay that detected the cell death products “nucleosomes” as a new blood-based cancer biomarker. As cell death processes are enhanced or suppressed during different stages of tumor development, it was assumed that they may enable stage-dependent detection of cancer disease.

12 Dec 2013

Freiburg scientists discover substance that suppresses unchecked cell division in leukemia cells

Scientists of the University of Freiburg and the Freiburg University Medical Center from the collaborative research center Medical Epigenetics (SFB 992) have discovered a new active substance that inhibits cell division in leukemia cells and could play an important role in the fight against cancer.

27 Nov 2013

Scientists reveal surprising role for HDAC1 proteins in development of skin tumors

Findings by scientists from the Max F. Perutz Laboratories (MFPL) of the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna reveal a surprising role for histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) - a member of a family of chromatin modifying proteins - in the development of skin tumors.

18 Nov 2013

Certain food and lifestyle habits can turn on or off expression of cancer related genes

Research performed at the Center of Research and Advanced Studies (Cinvestav) has identified that certain food and lifestyle habits can turn on or off the expression of cancer related genes.

21 Oct 2013

Study: Changes in expression of various isoforms might play role in cancer development

Spool-like proteins called histones play a crucial role in packaging the nearly seven feet of DNA found in most human cells. A new study shows that a group of histones that are thought to behave the same way actually are functionally distinct proteins.

4 Sep 2013

Researchers discover role played by epigenetic factors in senescence and age-related diseases

One way cells promote tumor suppression is through a process called senescence, an irreversible arrest of proliferation. Senescence is thought to be associated with normal aging, but is also a protective measure by the body against run-away cell replication.

31 Aug 2013

Scientists discover crucial role of nitric oxide in cellular signaling and health

Scientists at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy have discovered a new role for nitric oxide, a gas molecule crucial for cellular signaling and health.

26 Aug 2013

Penn State researchers find that protein changes can control gene functions

A Penn State-led research team has found that changes to proteins called histones, which are associated with DNA, can control whether or not a gene is allowed to function. The changes may be important in maintaining the genes' "expression potential" so that future cells behave as their parent cells did.

8 Aug 2013

Researchers study how human herpes virus packages genetic information during infection

An international collaboration of researchers including Felicia Goodrum of the University of Arizona's immunobiology department has studied how a human herpes virus carried by the majority of the population packages its genetic information during infection.

31 Jul 2013

Scientists discover molecular switch that determines death or survival of cell

The study is the result of a collaboration of scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, University of Michigan, and University of California San Diego, USA, who were interested in finding out whether autophagy can be affected by events in the cell nucleus. Surprisingly, they discovered that a signal chain in the nucleus serves as a kind of molecular switch that determines whether the cell dies or survives.

19 Jul 2013

Scientists discover network for molecular communication in human embryonic stem cells

Scientists at A*STAR's Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) and the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics (MPIMG) in Berlin (Germany) have discovered a molecular network in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) that integrates cell communication signals to keep the cell in its stem cell state.

3 Jul 2013

Stanford researchers take new step in deciphering of histone code

A chemical code scrawled on histones - the protein husks that coat DNA in every animal or plant cell - determines which genes in that cell are turned on and which are turned off.

28 Jun 2013

Researchers receive NIH grant to study key proteins linked to cancer and diabetes

Researchers from the Polytechnic Institute of New York University and NYU have received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to further a novel approach to understanding the genetic underpinnings of diseases including cancer and diabetes.

21 Jun 2013