Epigenome is equivalent to genome

Genome

In modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information. It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of virus, in RNA. The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA....

 in epigenetics

Epigenetics

In biology, and specifically genetics, epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene expression or cellular phenotype caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence – hence the name epi- -genetics...

. Epigenetics is one of the current topics in cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

 research drawing active research. Human tumors

Tumor

A tumor or tumour is commonly used as a synonym for a neoplasm that appears enlarged in size. Tumor is not synonymous with cancer...

 undergo a major disruption of DNA

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...

 methylation

Methylation

In the chemical sciences, methylation denotes the addition of a methyl group to a substrate or the substitution of an atom or group by a methyl group. Methylation is a form of alkylation with, to be specific, a methyl group, rather than a larger carbon chain, replacing a hydrogen atom...

 and histone

Histone

In biology, histones are highly alkaline proteins found in eukaryotic cell nuclei that package and order the DNA into structural units called nucleosomes. They are the chief protein components of chromatin, acting as spools around which DNA winds, and play a role in gene regulation...

 modification patterns. The aberrant epigenetic landscape of the cancer cell is characterized by a massive genomic hypomethylation, CpG

CpG

CpG can be:*CpG site - methylated sequences of DNA significant in gene regulation*CpG Oligodeoxynucleotide - unmethylated sequences of DNA that have immunostimulatory properties*CpG island - regions of DNA that contain several CpG sites...

 island promoter hypermethylation of tumor suppressor genes

Gênes

Gênes is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Italy, named after the city of Genoa. It was formed in 1805, when Napoleon Bonaparte occupied the Republic of Genoa. Its capital was Genoa, and it was divided in the arrondissements of Genoa, Bobbio, Novi Ligure, Tortona and...

, an altered histone

Histone

In biology, histones are highly alkaline proteins found in eukaryotic cell nuclei that package and order the DNA into structural units called nucleosomes. They are the chief protein components of chromatin, acting as spools around which DNA winds, and play a role in gene regulation...

code for critical genes and a global loss of monoacetylated and trimethylated histone H4.

Much of the subject matter is not yet fully understood. Some people have suggested a Human Epigenome Project.

Human Epigenome Pilot Project

The Human Epigenome Consortium is a public/private collaboration that aims to identify and catalogue Methylation Variable Positions (MVPs) in the human genome. As a prelude to the full-scale Human Epigenome Project (HEP), scientists have recently completed a pilot study of the methylation patterns within the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) - a region of chromosome 6 that is associated with more diseases than any other region in the human genome.
They claim to have identified MVPs in the vicinity of the promoter and other relevant regions of approximately 150 loci within the MHC in tissues from a range of individuals. This will provide an unprecedented insight into the complex relationship between genetics and epigenetics that underlies both normal cellular homeostasis and disease states, in particular autoimmune diseases.

For the pilot project, we developed an integrated genomics-based technology platform. The pipeline involves the automated bisulphite treatment of DNA from minute tissue biopsies, gene-specific bisulphite PCR and large-scale sequencing of PCR amplicons. Analysis and quantification of methylation patterns is achieved by mass spectrometric and microarray assays.

External links

Human Epigenome Project

Cancer Research