Histone Methylation Has a New Sidekick and Its Name is Serotonin!March 17, 2019Watch out epigenomic evil-doers, histone H3 has a new sidekick to help it keep gene regulation in shape. By day, serotonin can be found in its traditional role as a neurotransmitter; being released by cells of the nervous system and binding to specific receptors to impact a wide range of functions, from cognition to gut motility. […]
New Sequencing Technique TAPS into Genome-Wide DNA Methylation Profiles Without the BSMarch 12, 2019While trying to uncover the mysteries of the DNA methylation, a lot of BS is often required. And no, we’re not talking about workplace politics but rather sodium bisulfite (BS) conversion. Thankfully, the labs of Chun-Xiao Song and Benjamin Schuster-Böckler at Oxford University (UK) have developed a new “BS-free” approach to uncover the secrets of the […]
Don’t Turn the Other Cheek on Heterogeneity in Buccal Cell SamplesMarch 12, 2019When it comes to brushing, whether it’s your teeth or a cheek swab sample, proper technique is important. Your dentist may have already told you not to brush you teeth too hard, but it turns out how you collect a cheek swab is also important. Buccal epithelial cells are perhaps the most clinically accessible tissue […]
Think Different – Alternatively Spliced Histone Variant Points to Epigenetic Control of Telomere LengtheningMarch 12, 2019While many prefer matters to be straightforward, some prefer to think “outside the box” and conjure up an alternative to the norm. Cancer cells are much the same; while most remain on the straight and narrow and employ the telomerase holoenzyme complex to maintain their telomeres, a significant fraction go their own way and use […]
EZH2 Gets a TAD Involved in CancerFebruary 26, 2019In the Venn diagram of epigenetics and cancer biology, EZH2 sits perfectly in the overlap. This methyltransferase is responsible for tri-methylation of lysine 27 on histone 3 (H3K27me3) but is also an oncogene, mutated in a variety ofhumancancers. H3K27me3 is a marker of inactive chromatin domains, specifically topologically associating domains (TADs), and has been linked to […]