2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Detecting combinatorial histone modification dynamics at single nucleosome resolution for key genes in Epithelial-Mesenchymal-Transition
| Project/Area Number |
17K18358
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Research Field |
Nanobioscience
Biophysics
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| Research Institution | Institute of Physical and Chemical Research |
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Principal Investigator |
Chang Jen-Chien 国立研究開発法人理化学研究所, 生命医科学研究センター, 研究員 (10792137)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2017-04-01 – 2019-03-31
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| Keywords | nucleosome / histone modification / chromatin state / single-molecule imaging / EMT / enChIP / epigenetics / bivalent promoter |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Each human cell type has a unique morphology and function enabled by the usage of specific combinations of different parts of the genome. This research focused on histone modifications, which is one of many molecular levels that are tightly regulated to maintain a healthy cell status. Multiple histone modifications can co-occur on the same nucleosome and function together; however, conventional method cannot identify the accurate combinatorial histone modification in a heterogeneous cell population. In this research, a highly sensitive single-molecule imaging assay was developed to simultaneously detect multiple histone modifications on single nucleosomes extracted from cells. Moreover, to understand Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), a list of candidate genes with varied chromatin states during EMT was identified for further investigation. The results have been presented in several domestic and international conferences.
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| Free Research Field |
Epigenetics
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| Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
The developed method for measuring single nucleosomes has reached an unprecedented resolution and expanded the toolbox for epigenetics research. Furthermore, the biological process EMT studied here is critical for cancer metastasis. Understanding its mechanism is the basis to improve human health.
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