DNA Methylation and HIV LatencyJuly 1, 2009You’d think keeping HIV from replicating was a good thing, and it is … unless you’re trying to eradicate the virus. One of the world’s most elusive viruses is an expert at maintaining a low profile, laying dormant in CD4+ cells even during highly active anti-retroviral treatment (HAART). A team of American and Swedish researchers […]
Imprints Can Be a Real TurnoffJune 24, 2009For at least 100 genes, only one of its alleles can be expressed right from the get-go while the other allele is shut down. This imprinted pattern remains throughout development. While cis-acting epigenetic elements have been implicated in the process, the research community doesn’t have enough evidence to conclusively pin the blame on any one. […]
Move Over MeDIP: Methyl Binding Proteins Enrich Methylation StudiesJune 18, 2009Since their debut with tiling microarrays back in 2005, DNA methylation affinity reagents have rapidly become a weapon of choice for prepping samples for genome-wide methylation studies. In the last few years enrichment methods have evolved almost as rapidly as the technology platforms on which they’re analyzed. Let’s take a look at some of the […]
Gene Bodies Take the “Hot Bod” Title for 2009June 18, 2009Like many other websites looking to boost their traffic, we couldn’t resist calling attention to a few hot bodies. Back in the day, Golgi Bodies were a hot research focus, and for good reason–these mini protein boot camps put the final touches on our critical cellular proteins before sending them on to their job assignments. […]
DZNep Hints At New Wave Of Epigenetic Cancer TherapiesJune 15, 2009Although it may sound like the name of a DJ in a Vegas nightclub, DZNep is actually a histone methylation inhibitor, and has recently created some buzz when it was found to inhibit H3K27 and H4K20 methylation and reactivate silenced genes in cancer cells. Sensing the therapeutic possibilities, Peter Jones and his team at USC […]
