Epigenetic regulation of germline fate during embryonic development and oncogenesis

在胚胎发育过程中，基因通过各种分子机制被开启和关闭。一种这样的基因沉默机制是DNA甲基化。这种化学修饰主要针对早期胚胎中生殖系特有的基因。在成年人中，这一标记的丢失和这组基因的重新激活在许多癌症中都可以观察到，包括黑色素瘤、肝癌和肺癌。在这里，我的目标是探索这些事件的分子基础，并确定它们在癌症形成中的作用。

During embryogenesis genes are switched on and off by a variety of molecular mechanisms. One such gene-silencing mechanism is DNA methylation. This chemical modification mostly targets germline-specific genes in early embryos. In adults, the loss of this mark and the reactivation of this set of genes has been observed in many cancers including melanoma, hepatic and lung cancer. Here I aim to explore the molecular underpinnings of these events and determine their role in cancer formation.