(Press-News.org)
Our genes contain all the instructions our body needs to function, but their expression must be finely regulated to guarantee that each cell performs its role optimally. This is where DNA and RNA epigenetics comes in: a series of mechanisms that act as "markers" on genes, to control their activity without modifying the DNA or RNA sequence itself.
Until now, DNA and RNA epigenetics were studied as independent systems. These two mechanisms seemed to function separately, each playing its own role in distinct stages of the gene regulation process.
Perhaps that was a mistake.
In a publication in the journal Cell, researchers led by François Fuks, the Laboratory of Cancer Epigenetics, ULB Faculty of Medicine, ULB-Cancer Research Center and Jules Bordet Institute, H.U.B. reveal that in fact, DNA and RNA epigenetics could be more interconnected than previously thought. The researchers have discovered that they form a complementary regulation system, in which DNA epigenetics organises the available genes and RNA epigenetics dynamically adjusts their use.
In concrete terms, the study demonstrates that when these two markers are added jointly to a gene, they enable a more effective activation of that gene. On the other hand, if one of these processes is not working correctly, the gene's activity diminishes. François Fuks and his colleagues have shown that this mechanism is particularly important in key stages like cells' development or their specialisation into different types, for example in embryonic stem cells.
This combination offers incredibly precise regulation of gene activity, essential to the development of organisms and the harmonious functioning of cells.
Published on 17 January in Cell, this fundamental breakthrough sheds light on a completely new mode of gene control, opening up unprecedented perspectives in biology. It helps us to gain a better understanding of how our cells work and how disruptions to these mechanisms can cause diseases like cancer.
This discovery could also lead to advances in cancer treatments. Making use of this complementary regulation system raises the prospect of developing therapies based on "epigenetic drugs" that target DNA and RNA at the same time. The scientists hope to be able to develop more precise and personalised treatments, capable of targeting these regulation mechanisms to restore balance to diseased cells in cancer patients.
Prof. Fuks' team is already carrying out research connected directly to the work published in Cell. These ongoing studies aim to demonstrate the clinical usefulness of their discovery, by exploring the potential of epigenetic therapies acting on DNA and RNA.
The main author of this study is Giuseppe Quarto from Prof. Fuks' laboratory. Also involved in the study were teams from the Faculty of Sciences (Dr. Gueydan) and ULg (Dr. Close).
The work is supported by the F.N.R.S, Télévie, Welbio, the Belgian Foundation Against Cancer, an ARC (Action de Recherche Concertée – Collective Research Initiative), the ULB Foundation and Wallonia.
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Background and objectives
No previous study has been conducted in Nigeria on the role of neutrophil elastase in predicting preterm birth. The present study aimed to determine the role of the neutrophil elastase test in predicting birth in women with preterm labor.
Methods
The present prospective cohort study recruited 83 pregnant women with preterm labor between 28 and 36+6 weeks of gestation, and followed up these subjects for 14 days. The controls comprised 85 pregnant women without preterm labor. The cervicovaginal fluid was collected and tested using the neutrophil elastase test. Then, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive parameters were determined. ...
WHAT:
With support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is leading the implementation of the Dr. Emmanuel Bilirakis and Honorable Jennifer Wexton National Plan to End Parkinson’s Act (P.L. 118-66), which was signed into law on July 2, 2024. This follows a delegation of authority from the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to the NIH Director.
The act establishes a Federal ...
About The Study: In this cross-sectional study, nearly one-half of all primary care physicians (PCPs) were affiliated with hospitals, while private equity-affiliated PCPs were growing and concentrated in certain regional markets. Relative to PCPs in independent settings, hospital-affiliated PCPs and private equity-affiliated PCPs had higher prices for the same services.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Yashaswini Singh, PhD, MPA, email yashaswini_singh@brown.edu.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.4935)
Editor’s ...
About The Study: This cross-sectional study showed websites that sell compounded glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) often partially informed and sometimes misinformed potential consumers. Compounded medications contain the same active ingredients as in branded medications but may contain different inactive ingredients. Most websites did not disclose that compounded GLP-1 RAs were not FDA approved, although some suggested these drugs were FDA approved. Many websites provided limited safety information and unauthorized efficacy claims. Some ...
About The Study: This study found modest evidence of reductions in out-of-pocket costs and improvements in health among adults entering Medicare after the Affordable Care Act. Insurance coverage and financial assistance should be preserved and enhanced to improve health and health care access among vulnerable older adults.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Renuka Tipirneni, MD, MSc, email rtipirne@med.umich.edu.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.5025)
Editor’s ...
With more than 50,000 described species, the leaf beetle family is distributed worldwide and represents about a quarter of the species diversity of all herbivores. Leaf beetles can be found to feed on almost all plant groups. They live in the rhizosphere, the canopy and even underwater. Many leaf beetles, such as the Colorado potato beetle, are notorious pests. Their species richness and global distribution highlight their evolutionary success, which is particularly astonishing given that leaves are a difficult food source to digest and provide unbalanced nutrients.
Researchers from the Department of Insect Symbiosis at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical ...
Individuals with sickle cell disease – a chronic illness where misshapen, sticky blood cells clump together, reducing oxygen delivery to organs – are at a higher risk for stroke and resulting cognitive disability. But even in the absence of stroke, many such patients struggle with remembering, focusing, learning and problem solving, among other cognitive problems, with many facing challenges in school and in the workplace.
Now a multidisciplinary team of researchers and physicians at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has published a study that helps explain how the illness might affect cognitive performance ...
The diversity of plasma research at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) was readily apparent when the PPPL 2024 Distinguished Research Fellows were recently announced. Elena Belova and Yevgeny Raitses were awarded the honor at the Lab’s annual State of the Laboratory event. Belova, a theoretical physicist, won for her work developing highly complex simulations of plasmas in different fusion experiments. Raitses, a managing principal research physicist, was honored for his experimental work on ...
Background and Aims
The transcription factor sex-determining region Y-related high-mobility group-box gene 9 (SOX9) plays a critical role in organ development. Although SOX9 has been implicated in regulating lipid metabolism in vitro, its specific role in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) remains poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the role of SOX9 in MASH pathogenesis and explored the underlying mechanisms.
Methods
MASH models were established using mice fed either a methionine- and choline-deficient (MCD) diet or a high-fat, high-fructose diet. To evaluate the effects of SOX9, hepatocyte-specific SOX9 deletion or overexpression was performed. ...
The search for answers to Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders remains one of the most pressing goals in brain research. Maciej J. Stawikowski, Ph.D., an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, believes the key may lie in understanding how cholesterol and other lipids move through cells and affect their communication.
“It’s well known that lipids and Alzheimer’s are linked,” said Stawikowski, a member of the FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute. “Lipid imbalance may ...
