Keeping COVID-19 in the Family – SARS-CoV-2 Infection Reprograms Immune Responses Through Epigenetic MemorySeptember 24, 2023We try to keep exciting research findings in our epigenetic “family,” and a recent article now reports that our stem and immune cells are not so different when it comes to their epigenetic memory of SARS-CoV-2 infection! A new study now describes how SARS-CoV-2-mediated epigenetic reprogramming in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) severely impacts […]
An Eerie Epigenetic Disguise Helps SARS-CoV-2 Avoid Anti-viral ResponsesOctober 25, 2022Every avid trick-or-treater aspires to have the perfect Halloween costume; now, a spooky study has revealed how an unwanted guest – SARS-CoV-2 – dons an epigenetic disguise to help this virus trick its way past host defenses to infect human cells! A fearless team led by Erica Korb (University of Pennsylvania, USA) knew that SARS-CoV-2 […]
eBook: Epigenetics of COVID-19September 22, 2022COVID-19 has been one of the biggest public health issues in recent history and has changed the daily lives of almost everyone on the planet. Many researchers, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies have been working around the clock since the novel coronavirus outbreak started to try to develop new tools to test for and treat the […]
Wake Up and Don’t Smell the Coffee! – How SARS-CoV-2-Induced DNA Methylation Impacts Your Sense of SmellJuly 18, 2022While many researchers have woken up, smelled the coffee, and realized the importance of epigenetic alterations in response to SARS-CoV-2 infections, many patients recovering from COVID-19 have been left unable to enjoy the olfactory joy of their first cup of java as each new day dawns. Now, well-caffeinated researchers led by Maria Lerm at Linköping […]
Battling Against the Clock: Epigenetic Age Acceleration Impacts COVID-19 SeverityMay 2, 2022Timing is crucial for many aspects of life, and now, a rather timely study demonstrates that the acceleration of our epigenetic clocks after SARS-CoV-2 infection significantly impacts our risk of suffering severe COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 syndrome (“long COVID”). Previous research has described how older patients suffer from a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 (independent […]
Can Disrupting Chromatin Interactions Stop SARS-CoV-2 in its Tracks?February 21, 2022Viral infections can appear like a runaway train, careering through the human body without a brake in sight; however, the meandering journey taken for the development of antivirals has now discovered a new way to stop runaway SARS-CoV-2 infections in their tracks thanks to CRISPR technology and a trip through the chromatin landscape of infected […]
Single-Cell ATAC-seq Shows that Chromatin Remodeling Allows Immune Cells to Remember COVID-19June 24, 2021While few will remember the last eighteen months with any great fondness, the memory of our immune cells represents a critical facet controlling long-lasting responses induced by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and exposure to vaccines. In an unforgettable study, researchers led by Liang Chen, Mark M. Davis, and Pengyuan Yang now demonstrate […]
Storm Chasing: Cell-Free DNA Methylation Tracks the Severity and Location of COVID-19 DamageJanuary 25, 2021As the COVID-19 cytokine storm brews in our bodies, the severity and location of the damage remains uncertain. However, exciting new findings from a storm chasing team led by Iwijn De Vlaminck (Cornell University) show that cell-free DNA (cfDNA) methylation profiles can track the affected organs and severity of COVID-19 damage in patients. Although we’ve seen that DNA […]
DNA Methylation Contributes to the Chaos and Complications of COVID-19December 14, 2020While the cough was the cardinal consideration, COVID-19 has been causing chaos in every organ system, including lungs, heart, brain, blood, liver, and skin. In fact, the involvement of these non-lung systems predicts increased mortality and new research now shows that DNA methylation is a contributor to COVID-19. Researchers from the laboratory of Arjun Deb […]