The miRNA Importin BizFebruary 10, 2009For all we know about miRNA – how it’s made, what it does, how it folds, … – comparatively little is known about how the Argonaute (Ago) proteins allow miRNA to do what it does. Yet thanks to a group out of Germany, we now understand a bit more of the machinery that lets miRNA […]
Chromatin Maps Conserved Missing linc-RNAFebruary 3, 2009 Researchers in Boston figured that maybe they could find something interesting in all the non-protein, non-miRNA, non-siRNA genes. They did…linc-RNAs. Through a massive sequencing of ChIP data they uncovered a chromatin “signature” for actively transcribed regions between known protein coding genes, and used this signature to identify about 1700 previously un-annotated stretches of the genome at […]
DNA Methylation Resuscitation in PlantsFebruary 3, 2009Conventional wisdom had it that once a methylated repeat sequence is heavily demethylated, there’s no turning back. Not only don’t they become remethylated, but subsequent generations inherit the epigenetic changes as well. But a group of European researchers have found that this isn’t always the case and there are at least two distinct classes of […]
Blast from the Past: Methylation Profiling of Archival Lymphoma SamplesFebruary 3, 2009Imagine that you could go back in time and analyze the DNA methylation profiles of long-ago cancer samples (not to mention recession-proof your investment portfolio). EpiGenie can’t help with the latter because our time machine is on the fritz, but we can tell you about a new study in which researchers profiled the methylomes of […]
CHARMed I’m Shore: Meet the Latest Hotspots for DNA MethylationJanuary 19, 2009Between reading Dilbert cartoons and refilling their Swingline staplers, many of corporate America’s finest day dream of holidays to distant islands, but they’re not alone. Researchers studying DNA methylation have made minimal attempts to hide their infatuation with CpG islands, after all, these regions tend to associate themselves with prestigious protein-coding regions of genes. An […]
CAGEd miRNAs: Taming Transcriptional InitiationJanuary 18, 2009Most primary miRNA transcripts remain a mystery because they’re generally degraded by the time they leave the comfort of the nucleus. Where do the transcripts start? Do they have a single “peak” of initiation, or are there a variety of sites where they’re likely to begin? Limitations in the currently available molecular biology tool set […]
To Code or Not to Code…Is that the Question?December 10, 2008In the past few years, ncRNAs have progressed from interesting anomalies to what some researchers think constitute the majority of the mammalian transcriptome. However, as reviewed by John Mattick and coworkers at the University of Queensland and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (both in Australia), it’s increasingly difficult to distinguish coding from noncoding RNAs […]
Let It SnoDecember 2, 2008It’s December, the time of year when much of the States is blanketed in a frosty mantle of the white stuff. But as recently reported in Molecular Cell, the ACA45 RNA appears to have pulled the ultimate snow job. Nikolaus Rajewsky, Gunter Meister, and colleagues revealed that ACA45, which was previously thought to function exclusively […]
miRNA Fights Cancer-Promoting Histone MethyltransferaseNovember 23, 2008What makes some tumors as gentle as purring kittens and others of the same cancer type as ferocious as saber-toothed tigers? A miRNA (miR-101) was recently shown to take a bite out of cancer by inhibiting the EZH2 histone methyltransferase. The study by Arul Chinnaiyan and co-workers at the University of Michigan Medical School, the […]
ncRNAs on the BrainNovember 17, 2008Do you remember the name of your fourth-grade teacher? How about what you had for lunch last Thursday? Highschool Prom date? Yeah, we went stag too, but if you’re having a hard time remebering key events, ncRNAs may be to blame! The human brain expresses high numbers of ncRNAs, and mounting evidence indicates important contributions […]