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 […]
Activity Matters: Enhancing our Understanding of Brain MaturationSeptember 29, 2020While epigenetic studies have shown us that the past sculpts the future, the mechanisms have remained a cognitive conundrum, particularly when it comes the developing brain. Thankfully, a stimulating new study has come forth to show how early-life brain activity flips a switch that establishes cell-type specific enhancers for life. To prime our brains with this […]
The One With All The Brand New Methylation FactorsSeptember 22, 2020Could there BE anymore genes affecting DNA methylation? Actually, yes! We always hear about the main cast of the methylation show, the DNMTs and the TETs, but where are all the supporting actors that attract, repel or otherwise interact with these stars? A new show (study) from the studio (lab) of Bastiaan Heijmans (Leiden University […]
