Epigenetics Europe Agenda

Registration

Chromatin Remodeling and Epigenetic Control of Cell Differentiation
Karl Ekwall, Professor of Medical Genetics and Epigenetics, Karolinska Institute, Sweden

The great diversity of epigenomes that can arise from a single genome permits a single, cell to generate all the different cell types of an adult individual. The epigenetic changes include modifications of the DNA and histones, and are a prerequisite for cell differentiation. Maintenance of one particular epigenome during chromatin replication is crucial for clonal expansion of cell lineages and tissues. Our laboratory is studying how chromatin-remodeling factors are contributing to epigenetic control mechanisms.

A Tale of Two (Epigenetic) Switches
Narendra Maheshri, Assistant Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States of America

I describe our understanding of the dynamics of two different epigenetic switches in budding yeast and how this relates to whether the epigenetic state is molecularly encoded in cis or trans.

Coffee Break and Networking in the Exhibition Hall

Dynamics of Sex Chromosome Activity During Gametogenesis
Willy Baarends, Group Leader, The Erasmus University Medical Center, Netherlands

During meiotic prophase in male mammals, the heterologous sex chromosomes (X and Y) are transcriptionally silenced by a special process termed meiotic sex chromosome inactivation. I will present our data concerning the initiation, maintenance, and biological relevance of this process.

The TGFbeta Signalling Pathway Rewires the Hierarchy of Chromosome Interactomes
Rolf Ohlsson, Professor, Karolinska Institute, Sweden

Posttranslational modifications regulate macromolecular interactions in cis and in trans to allow rapid adaptation to changing environments. Here we document a new role for one such modification as a mediator of interchromosomal complexes, which are antagonized by TGFbeta signalling. 

Lunch and Networking in the Exhibition Hall

Poster Viewing Session

The Rogue Peas: An Unforgivably Forgotten Paramutation
Jose Leitao, Professor, Universidade do Algarve, Portugal

The spontaneously appearing rogue phenotype in Pisum sativum L. was the first reported and studied case of the epigenetic phenomenon paramutation. Although over 80 years have passed since the determination of the aberrant, defying the Mendelian rules, inheritance of this phenotype, no research data have been published aiming at to uncover the molecular mechanisms that underlie the establishment, maintenance and inheritance of the rogue traits.

Coffee Break and Networking in the Exhibition Hall

Cancer Epigenetics: New Drugs and Paradigms
Frank Lyko, Group Leader, German Cancer Research Center, Germany

Altered DNA methylation plays a major role in cancer development. This presentation will discuss new drugs for the experimental modulation of DNA methylation patterns and also illustrate how the ongoing characterization of cancer epigenomes influences our strategies for epigenetic drug discovery.

Chemotherapy and Epigenetic Therapy: Overlaps and Concerns
Steven Gray, Senior Clinical Scientist, St. James’s Hospital & Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

Epigenetic drugs and chemotherapy can reactivate epigenetically silenced genes with either “good” or “bad” consequences. Candidate epigenetic markers may be a key factor in stratifying patients for therapy and/or predicting response to therapy.

An ENU mutagenesis screen identifies the first mouse mutants of a novel epigenetic modifier, Rearranged L-Myc Fusion (Rlf).
Sarah Harten, Senior Research Officer, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Australia

A mutagenesis screen, using mice carrying an epigenetically sensitive GFP reporter was established to identify genes involved in epigenetic reprogramming. So far, over 50 mutant lines have been produced, including both well-known epigenetic genes e.g. Dnmt1 and novel genes e.g.Rlf.

Drinks Reception

Once Upon a Time There was Simply Hypermethylation and Hypomethylation
Wolfgang Schulz, Research Director, Heinrich-Heine-Universitat, Germany

Over the last decade, the simple concept of focal hypermethylation and global hypomethylation as the typical alterations of DNA methylation in human cancers has matured and interactions between changes in DNA methylation and chromatin states are better understood.

Coffee Break and Networking in the Exhibition Hall

Df31 Protein and snoRNAs Maintain Accessible Higher Order Structures of Chromatin
Axel Imhof, Group Leader, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Germany

Packaging of DNA into nucleosomes and the formation of higher order chromatin structures determine DNA accessibility and activity of genome domains. We identified a RNA-dependent mechanism maintaining the open chromatin structure within euchromatic regions in Drosophila cells.

Acetylated Histone H2A.Z is a Key Feature of Enhancers and the Promoters of Both Active and Bivalent Genes in Mouse ESCs
Colyn Crane-Robinson, Professor, University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom

The epigenetic landscape of the histone variant H2A.Z, both acetylated and non-acetylated, is determined in mouse ESCs using ChIP-Seq.  AcH2A.Z is present at the promoters of both active and poised (bivalent) genes and correlates with histone H3K4me3.

Lunch and Networking in the Exhibition Hall

Poster Viewing Session

The Epigenome - The Genome’s Memory of Past Experiences
Bas Heijmans, Associate Professor, Leiden University Medical Center, Netherlands

We aim to discover epigenomic marks susceptible to the (prenatal) environment and their contribution to human disease and ageing. We apply a mix of study designs, epigenomics technologies, and data analysis approaches for example within the setting of the Dutch Hunger Winter.

Epigenetic Regulation of Cellular Differentiation
Vijay Tiwari, Group Leader, Institute of Molecular Biology , Germany

Our research is aimed at achieving an integrated molecular and systems-level understanding of the mechanisms by which intracellular signal transduction cascades communicate with chromatin to regulate transcription.

Coffee Break and Networking in the Exhibition Hall

Epigenetic Regulators Involved in Cancer
Mark Dawson, Wellcome Trust Beit Fellow and Haematology Consultant, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

Misregulation of epigenetic regulators underpins the molecular pathogenesis of several haematological malignancies. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanisms by which these chromatin regulators contribute to cancer will provide a unique opportunity to target these factors with novel epigenetic therapies.

Polymorphic DNA Methylation in Normal and Cancer Cell Populations
Zohar Mukamel, Research Associate, Weizmann Institute, Israel

New methods for interrogation of heterogeneous DNA methylation patterns in cell populations will be described and their implications on tissue and cancer epigenomics will be discussed.

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