Low-Pass WGBS of Newborn Dried Blood Spots: A Methylome-Wide Role for the RUNX1 Super-Enhancer in Down SyndromeOctober 23, 2020While collecting blood spots may seem like a hobby best left for a TV serial killer like Dexter Morgan, a novel low-pass whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) approach has shown that newborn dried blood spots are more than just a trophy. Their entire methylome can be assayed to answer enticing epigenomic enigmas. DNA methylation array studies have […]
X Marks the Spot for Neurodevelopment in the Autism Spectrum Disorder Cord Blood MethylomeOctober 19, 2020Every good pirate knows that X marks the spot on their treasure map, but what’s one to do when it’s surrounded by the dangers of uncharted territory? Thankfully, when it comes to the unexplored regions of the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) DNA methylome, whole genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) has illuminated the way to the X chromosome […]
Multi-omic Analyses Highlight an Epigenetic Treatment Strategy for Early-stage Alzheimer’sOctober 19, 2020Given the unfortunate failure of many treatment strategies for late-stage Alzheimer’s disease, researchers recently sought to gain some fresh new perspective from multiple angles by mounting a three-pronged transcriptomic, proteomic, and epigenomic attack to decipher the mechanisms controlling disease progression. Excitingly, the team behind this study now highlight the possibility of an early-stage epigenetic therapy […]
Epigenetic Cross-Talk: Histone H3K36 Methyltransferases Shape Sex Differences in Germ Cell DNA MethylationOctober 7, 2020Why did the DNA methylation cross the road? To cross-talk to the histone methyltransferase on the other side! In the epigenetics, cross-talk is how different marks “talk” to each other during development and is still something of mystery. NSD1 and SETD2 encode enzymes that chemically modify H3K36me2 and H3K36me3 respectively. Germline mutations in these genes […]
Racing Against the Epigenetic Clock: PRDM8 and Premature AgingOctober 5, 2020Scientists are always working against the clock, and recently, a team led by Wolfgang Wagner (RWTH Aachen University, Germany) used their ever-evaporating time to explore a potential link between telomere shortening and epigenetic clock acceleration in premature-aging associated bone marrow failure syndromes and describe a new disease biomarker! Patients with premature aging and difficult-to-diagnose bone […]
