Topic
Epigenetics research, explained
13 open-access epigenetics studies, each with a flashcard deck and a quiz.
- A DNA methylation clock for human age
A 353-CpG epigenetic clock predicts age across diverse human tissues.
- Epigenetic locking of Foxp3 in Tregs
Stable regulatory T cells fully demethylate a conserved foxp3 region; TGF-β–induced Tregs do not.
- Genetics shapes methylation and expression
In HapMap LCLs, promoter methylation associates with genetic variants and transcript levels.
- Three CpGs track blood aging
Age-related blood DNA methylation at a few CpGs predicts chronological age with ~3.3-year MAD.
- Can you map DNA methylation in one cell?
An optimized bisulfite protocol produced 82 single-cell methylomes (median ~1.4 million CpGs each); pooling a few dozen cells covered >90% of CpGs and a region-set method placed hematopoietic and ESC samples on treatment trajectories.
- Is ethnic DNA methylation just ancestry?
In 573 GALA II Latinos, shared ancestry explained a median 75.7% of ethnicity-linked methylation variance, but environmental signals (e.g., maternal smoking loci) still contributed.
- VTRNA2-1: an environment-sensitive human epiallele
Independent genome-wide methylation screens converge on VTRNA2-1 as a systemic metastable epiallele shaped by periconceptional environment and stable for years.
- Transient reprogramming rejuvenates fibroblasts ~30 years
Maturation-phase transient OSKM expression (MPTR) rewinds transcriptome and epigenome aging clocks by ~30 years while cells reacquire fibroblast identity and youthful collagen/migration traits.
- How does lactylation-driven ALKBH3 weaken tumor suppressors?
Histone lactylation boosts ALKBH3, which removes m1A from SP100A and diminishes PML nuclear condensates, accelerating ocular melanoma progression.
- Histone acylations respond to plant stress
Rice histone butyrylation and crotonylation mark active chromatin and shift under starvation/submergence.
- How does mutant KRAS rewrite CRC chromatin with lactate?
In KRAS-mutant colorectal cancer, extra lactate boosts H3K9 lactylation, which opens chromatin at GRAMD1A and fuels cholesterol-driven growth; blocking H3K9la or GRAMD1A shrinks PDX tumors.
- Can one enzyme put histamine on histones and take it off?
Transglutaminase 2 not only installs serotonin/dopamine on histone H3Q5 but also erases and swaps those marks; histaminylation (H3Q5his) rises and falls over the day, blocks WDR5, and helps set neural circadian gene expression and behavior.
- Which T cells lose chromosome Y most?
Across cancer scRNA-seq and new PBMC/CD4+ data, regulatory T cells showed the highest LOY, higher Treg ratios, and 465 dysregulated genes tied to Treg programs.