DNAmod_PROPAGATION · Propagating DNA Modifications Across the Cell Cycle
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2018-09-01 → 2021-03-02
- EU contribution
- €212,195
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-EF-ST
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Propagating DNA Modifications Across the Cell Cycle
DNA in cells is decorated with methyl and hydroxymethyl marks, which are required for the cell to function. When cells divide, DNA replication dilutes these marks. After replication, these marks must therefore be re-established on DNA. Large regions of the genome commonly lose their DNA methylation in both cancerous and ageing cells. Both cancerous and ageing cells have undergone many cell divisions. This loss may therefore be linked to DNA replication and cell division. How long it takes to re-establish these marks after DNA replication, and in what manner this happens, is unclear, because the technology required has been unavailable. In this project, I sought to develop new methods capable of addressing these questions and profile how these marks return to their normal levels after being diluted by DNA replication. The novel methods developed in this project can be applied to diverse models to deepen our understanding of DNA modifications in disease states. This work, though not yet finalized, indicates that the rate of cell division outpaces re-establishment of DNA modifications, consistent with the loss of methylation seen after numerous cell divisions in both cancer and ageing. These novel technologies have provided new insights into the links between DNA methylation, DNA replication, and the cell cycle.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
BackgroundDNA hydroxymethylation and methylation are marks on DNA that help define cell identity and maintain genome stability. DNA hydroxymethylation is recently discovered, and the mechanisms underlying its maintenance are uncharacterised. DNA methylation is crucial for cell function, but large blocks of DNA lose methylation in cancerous and ageing cells. It has been speculated that this is due to aberrant maintenance during cell division, however, technical limitations have prevented this from being directly assessed. By developing a novel technology to study maintenance of these marks, I will test this hypothesis for the first time.ApproachThis new technology will track how DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation patterns are restored after DNA replication, using both mass-spectrometry and genomics. Using this, I will track restoration of these marks following DNA replication, and test whether DNA methylation loss is caused by cell cycle speed, depleted methionine levels late in replication, or a combination of both. This will be followed up by functional analyses of key maintenance DNA hydroxymethylation and methylation factors. Thus, this work combines my past experience in DNA methylation with the host lab’s expertise in chromatin dynamics during DNA replication.ImpactThis will be the first quantitative study of how patterns of DNA methylation and DNA hydroxymethylation are propagated between cell divisions, which is essential to their roles in defining and maintaining cell identity. The results will bring seminal and novel understanding of these marks from both basic and biomedical perspectives, by elucidating how epigenome maintenance is linked to both DNA replication and the epigenetic changes seen in disease. By dissecting in unprecedented resolution the mechanisms underlying propagation of DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation, this work will unveil the basis for epigenetic inheritance of these marks between cell generations.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET · KOBENHAVNCoordinatorDenmark
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union