Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b in Epidermal Homeostasis and Cancer Progression

DNA methylation is an essential epigenetic mechanism that regulates gene expression. While DNA methylation dynamics during embryonic formation is fairly well understood, its role in adult tissues is still under investigation. Prior to starting my PhD work, we found that the two de novo DNA methyltra...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Rinaldi, Lorenzo
Tipo de recurso: tesis doctoral
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:España
Institución:CBUC, CESCA
Repositorio:TDR. Tesis Doctorales en Red
OAI Identifier:oai:www.tdx.cat:10803/456683
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10803/456683
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Dnmt3a
Dnmt3b
Adult stem cells
Enhancers
DNA methylation
Cáncer de piel
Células madre de la piel
Metilación e ADN
Epigenética
Mecanismos trascripcionales
616
Descripción
Sumario:DNA methylation is an essential epigenetic mechanism that regulates gene expression. While DNA methylation dynamics during embryonic formation is fairly well understood, its role in adult tissues is still under investigation. Prior to starting my PhD work, we found that the two de novo DNA methyltransferases Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b were differentially expressed during epidermal stem cell differentiation. Interestingly, their expression patterns were completely opposite. We thus decided to further investigate the role of DNA methylation, and specifically of Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b, during the process of human epidermal stem cell differentiation. To characterize the epigenomic importance of Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b, we performed several next generation sequencing (NGS) experiments in primary human epidermal stem cells, which mimic faithfully the in vivo patterns of human epidermal cells. To gain insights into the epidermal roles of Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b in an in vivo setting, we generated a conditional epidermal knockout for either protein. We obtained interesting results that complemented and expanded the genomic data obtained from the human stem cell project, with Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b found to locate to several chromatin regions that are essential for both the self-renewal and the proper differentiation of adult stem cells