Epigenetics

How is it that our bodies have hundreds of different cell types, each having very different patterns of gene expression and well-defined behaviours and functions, and yet all have the same genome? Why do the cells in your skin divide into two other skin cells but not into two neurons or two muscle cells? How is it possible that our diets will affect our children and even grandchildren? All these facts have something in common which is the heritability of information across cell generations, without modifications to the DNA sequence. The field that studies this is Epigenetics.

In this course, the students will deepen their understanding of the epigenetic mechanisms that mediate gene expression changes, development and disease. The course will be divided into three parts:

1. The first part will be devoted to describing what the different epigenetic mechanisms are, such as histone modifications and DNA methylation, that regulate genes in general, but also at the level of two paradigms in epigenetics, imprinted genes and X chromosome inactivation. We will also highlight the role of nuclear organization in gene expression control.

2. In the second part of this course, we will study how epigenetics affect development and disease, and we will look into epigenetic modulators that are used to combat disease. We will also discuss prions as a non-traditional epigenetic mechanism that can lead to disease.

3. Lastly, the students will learn what the different techniques are that are currently available to study epigenetic modifications and their implications, from basic biology to the medical field.

This elective course is very relevant to Nanobiologists who want to expand their knowledge of epigenetic control of gene expression, how epigenetics is critical to understanding cell differentiation and development, and some types of diseases and cancer progression, and what the current technologies are used to study epigenetics in basic biology, medical research and biotechnological companies.