An in vitro compartmentalisation screen for mammalian DNA demethylases

我们的基因组在遗传信息的基础上携带表观遗传信息，这对健康有机体的正常发育和功能非常重要。DNA中的一些表观遗传标记是基于在DNA中添加一个小的化学基团。这些标记出现在不同的器官中，并使它们正常工作。然而，这些标记必须在生殖细胞中再次去除，这样婴儿才能从头开始发育。此外，当从患者身上提取细胞并将其转化回干细胞进行治疗时，这些标记必须重新编程，这在再生医学中是一个新的、潜在的革命性概念。这项拨款申请建议确定可以从DNA中去除表观遗传标记的因素，这可能会大大改善患者的干细胞生成，从而导致再生医学。

Our genome carries epigenetic information on top of the genetic one which is important for normal development and function of a healthy organism. Some epigenetic marks in DNA are based on addition of a small chemical group to the DNA. These marks occur in different organs and make them work properly. The marks however have to be removed again in germ cells, so that babies start their development with a clean slate . Also, these marks have to be reprogrammed when cells are taken from patients and transformed back into stem cells for treatment, which is a new and potentially revolutionary concept in regenerative medicine. This grant application proposes to identify factors with which epigenetic marks can be removed from DNA, which might conceivably lead to big improvements in stem cell generation from patients, and hence regenerative medicine.