Long-Sperm Effects: THC and Nicotine Have A Lasting Impact on Bivalent Chromatin and Autism GenesNovember 4, 2020While some fathers planning a family may be left in a bivalent state when deciding about smoking cannabis or nicotine, new research has cleared the air. THC and nicotine both prime an autism spectrum disorder profile in sperm through altering DNA methylation within bivalent chromatin states. In their seminal paper, researchers from the lab of […]
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 […]
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 […]
Choosing Sides: Tsix RNA Decapping Initiates the X Chromosome Inactivation CascadeSeptember 9, 2020When it comes to X inactivation there are a huge number of studies that eXist. Despite being one of the best-studied epigenetic phenomena, the molecular decision making process behind the initiation of X chromosome inactivation (XCI) had remained far from fully understood. The regulation of the long non-coding RNA Xist initiates XCI. Xist’s antisense partner […]
A TET1 Thermostat Cranks up the Heat in Beige AdipocytesSeptember 9, 2020Many of us eagerly reach for the thermostat to crank up the heat a little as summer turns to fall, and now, a team of red-hot researchers studying heat generation in adipose tissue have discovered that the ten-eleven translocation 1 (TET1) DNA demethylase forms part of an epigenetic thermostat that could provide a means to […]
rChIP-Seq Ratifies RNA as a Requirement for PRC2 to Rock and RollJuly 20, 2020Once in a while, an epigenetic technique comes along to rock your world more than your favorite Led Zeppelin or Foo Fighters album! Now, a band of researchers fronted by the dynamic duo of John L. Rinn and Thomas R. Cech (University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA) has just released a chart-topping masterpiece with their […]
H4K16ac Marks an Intergenerational To-Do List for Developing Fly EmbryosJuly 7, 2020Do the laundry? Check. Buy fabric softener? Got it. Write that next manuscript? Working on it… We’ve all got a lot on our to-do lists these days, but it’s nothing compared to the checklist that developing drosophila embryos have to contend with. On top of coordinating histone methylation marks, they’ve got to prepare for a […]
Filling in the Blanks: DNA Methylation-Dependent Glycosylation of Chromatin Modifiers Represses TranscriptionJuly 7, 2020You might think our portrait of the marks that make up the epigenetic landscape is nearing completion, but a new feature is now filling in some of the blank space behind a key regulatory mechanism. It has been long known that DNA methylation represses transcription via the recruitment of methylation-dependent repressive factors. The components of […]
Early-Life BPA Exposure Accelerates Epigenetic Aging and Creates a Ticking Timebomb for Metabolic Disease that a Western Diet IgnitesJuly 3, 2020While we hope that any silly errors and childish pranks of our formative years don´t follow us into adulthood, it now seems that certain experiences during early development are indeed carried into adulthood without our knowledge, where an activating trigger can lead to trouble and strife! Specifically, exposure to any number of environmental stressors during […]
