Objective
Epigenetics refers to heritable changes in gene expression patterns, brought about by modifications to DNA and chromatin. Aberrant epigenetic activity was shown to play important roles in the tumorigenic process. Two major epigenetic systems are known: DNA methylation and the histone modification machinery, an important component of which is the Polycomb Repressive Complexes (PRC) system. Recent works have suggested that a link between the two systems exists in cancer cells. Previous work on the interaction between DNA methylation and PRC activity was mostly limited to studies of a small number of genes leading to partial and conflicting results. I propose a long term comprehensive study that aims to examine the correlated epigenetic changes in these systems occurring through the spectrum of the tumorigenic process. This is made possible by a new methodology we have developed involving simultaneous genome-wide profiling of DNA methylation and PRC activity followed by robust computational analysis of the data. This gives us a unique ability to probe correlated changes of the various epigenetic systems. The project will be based on an established lab-computational-biotech collaboration and will entail simultaneous genome-wide profiling of epigenetic systems in normal and cancer cells and in various stages of the immortalization/transformation process. Results of the initial phase of this study show significant interplay between the two epigenetic systems. In particular, it appears that the two silencing mechanisms act in parallel to reprogram the cancer epigenome, and that DNA hypermethylation may replace Polycomb based repression near key regulatory genes, possibly reducing their regulatory flexibility. I expect the project to lead to a characterization of the gradual evolution of epigenetic states during the tumorigenic process, and their contribution to the transformation of normal cells to cancer cells.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics DNA
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics epigenetics
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP7-PEOPLE-2007-4-3-IRG
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
52621 Ramat Gan
Israel
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.