EPIGENETIC EFFECTS ON GENE REGULATION DURING CELL DIFFERENTIATION, DEVELOPMENT AND DISEASE

Abstract

DNA METHYLATION PLAY PROFOUND ROLES IN AFFECTING GENE EXPRESSION AND CONTRIBUTE TO PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY. HIGH THROUGHPUT SEQUENCING TECHNOLOGIES COUPLED WITH BIOINFORMATICS DATA MINING METHODS ALLOW FOR SYSTEMATIC GENOME-WIDE ANALYSIS BETWEEN DIFFERENT -OMICS DATA TYPES TO ELUCIDATE INTERACTIVE RELATIONSHIPS. WE HAVE APPLIED AN IMPROVISED VERSION OF RRBS TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF DNA METHYLATION IN A DIVERSITY OF BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS, NAMELY (I) MOUSE WHITE AND BROWN ADIPOCYTES DIFFERENTIATION, (II) HUMAN PLACENTA TISSUES AT EARLY AND LATE GESTATIONAL AGE AND (III) HUMAN PLACENTA TISSUES FROM PREGNANCIES CARRYING DOWN?S SYNDROME AND NORMAL FETUSES. TAKEN TOGETHER, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED THE EXISTENCE OF UNIQUE DNA METHYLATION FOOTPRINTS IN MULTIPLE BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES SUCH AS CELL DIFFERENTIATION, CELL SPECIFICITY AND DEVELOPMENT. IN ADDITION, WE OBSERVED ABERRANT DNA METHYLATION IN CONDITIONS OF GENETIC DISORDER. FURTHER RESEARCH CAN BE FOCUSED ON BIOLOGICAL MANIPULATIONS WITH EITHER E