Epigenetics articles from across Nature Portfolio

We developed MAbID, a method for combined genomic profiling of histone modifications and chromatin-binding proteins in single cells, enabling researchers to study the interconnectivity between gene-regulatory mechanisms. We demonstrated MAbID’s implementation in profiling multifactorial changes in chromatin signatures during in vitro neural differentiation and in primary mouse bone marrow tissue.

Pregestational diabetes is linked to an increased risk of congenital disorders, including cardiac and craniofacial defects, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Using a hyperglycemic mouse model, Nishino et al. show that ectopic retinoic acid signaling in the anterior heart field causes aberrant tissue patterning and associated pathologies¹.

Previous studies reported an effect of N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A) of super-enhancer RNAs (seRNAs) on chromatin accessibility and gene transcription. We investigated seRNA m⁶A levels in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and found that aberrantly increased m⁶A methylation promoted local chromatin accessibility, resulting in increased transcription of oncogenes acting in PDAC progression.

Through a genetic screen, the authors find that the cohesin regulator PDS5A is required for Polycomb target gene silencing. Derepression upon cohesin dysregulation is linked to loss of Polycomb loops without change in repressive chromatin domains.

Using C. elegans, Oleson et al. demonstrate that developmental exposure to reactive oxygen species protects against amyloid toxicity later in life, mediated by disruption of the H3K4me3 epigenetic machinery through HSF-1-dependent shifts in lipid metabolism.

DNA methylation rates correlate with maximum lifespan in mammals, but a precise relationship had not been defined. Here Crofts et al. develop a statistical framework to compare methylation rates at conserved age-related sites and find that methylation rates negatively scale with maximum lifespan in 42 mammalian species.

We developed MAbID, a method for combined genomic profiling of histone modifications and chromatin-binding proteins in single cells, enabling researchers to study the interconnectivity between gene-regulatory mechanisms. We demonstrated MAbID’s implementation in profiling multifactorial changes in chromatin signatures during in vitro neural differentiation and in primary mouse bone marrow tissue.

Pregestational diabetes is linked to an increased risk of congenital disorders, including cardiac and craniofacial defects, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Using a hyperglycemic mouse model, Nishino et al. show that ectopic retinoic acid signaling in the anterior heart field causes aberrant tissue patterning and associated pathologies¹.

Previous studies reported an effect of N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A) of super-enhancer RNAs (seRNAs) on chromatin accessibility and gene transcription. We investigated seRNA m⁶A levels in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and found that aberrantly increased m⁶A methylation promoted local chromatin accessibility, resulting in increased transcription of oncogenes acting in PDAC progression.