The Medical Epigenetics Consortium (MEC) aims to determine the epigenome of normal and
leukemic human blood cells in the myeloid and erythroid lineage.
MEC’s research forms part of the worldwide effort to determine the epigenome of a large number of human tissues, performed by the International Human Epigenome Consortium which includes a number of initiatives including the European consortium BLUEPRINT, focused on the epigenetics of blood cells. The results may provide novel opportunities for diagnostics and therapeutic intervention. The epigenomes to be determined will include the status of key histone modifications, DNA modification, genomic interactions and nucleosome free areas of the genome in healthy and diseased cells.
MEC will use genome wide approaches. They include DNA methylation sequencing, chromatin immunoprecipitation and variants of 3C technology followed by high throughput sequencing. Advanced bio-informatics will be used to map the various modifications or interactions to the genome. To gain insight in the normal process of differentiation versus the block in differentiation leading to leukemia, it is important to analyse the different stages of the megakaryocyte / erythrocyte lineage. To this end, multiplex approaches will be developed.
Additional information
Medical Epigenetics Consortium factsheet