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Stay Up To Date - Attend An Epigenetics Conference

The field of epigenetics is constantly evolving with the development of new processes for chromatin profiling and the discovery of new information regarding factors affecting chromatin structure and gene expression. Epigenetic factors affect the incidence of many diseases, including cancer and neurodegenerative conditions, and have an increasing influence on the field of biomedical research. Thus, there is a great deal of importance involved in staying informed on current research. Attending an Epigenetics Conference can be one of the best ways to make sure that you stay up to date on new information, research and protocols. However, selecting the right conference can be challenging, as there are countless epigenetics meetings each month. Here are a few noteworthy conferences in 2020 that you should add to your calendar.

From January 2630, Keystone Symposia is hosting an epigenetics conference focused on cancer epigenetics and gene regulation, entitled Cancer Epigenetics: New Mechanisms and Therapeutic Opportunities. This meeting will be held jointly with Gene Regulation: From Mechanisms to Disease. The keynote speakers are all renowned experts in the field and include Karen Adelman, Ph.D. and Shelley L. Berger, Ph.D. and. The Cancer Epigenetics conference aims to explore advances in methods, mechanistic insights and drug discovery efforts. Key areas to be explored in the Gene Regulation meeting include the effects of precise control of gene expression and its effects on organismal development, homeostasis, and aging.

Another exciting conference to look forward to in 2020 is the Gordon Research Chromatin Structure and Function Conference held on May 31- June 5 in Castelldefels, ES.on. This meeting will cover epigenetics fundamentals, but will also offer a look at chromatin organization and its effects on physiology and disease. Specifically, it will explore new methodologies that enable chromatin mapping and visualization at the single-cell level. Seats are filled on a rolling basis, so be sure to apply early.

The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) is hosting a Science Research Conference on June 21-26 in Sicily, Italy. The conference is dedicated to DNA, RNA and protein methylation and the role that post-translational methylation has on the development of human disease. Biologists and chemists from many backgrounds and disciplines will come together to explore the effects of protein and nucleic acid methylation on diseases.

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory is hosting a conference on September 14t-18, 2020 featuring Shelley L. Berger, Ph.D. and Richard Young, Ph.D., as keynote speakers. This conference will explore topics regarding nuclear architecture, chromatin structure, epigenetic memory, protein and DNA modification and much more.

Additionally, EpiCypher’s scientific founders are organizing a 2020 epigenetics conference that will be held from November 8-13 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Featuring renowned keynote speakers Kristian Helin, Ph.D. and Steven Henikoff, Ph.D., this conference will explore the latest findings and technological advances in epigenetics research. To learn more about this epigenetics conference, visit EpiCypher.com.

These are only a few of the epigenetics conferences scheduled for 2020. Take a look here at EpiCypher’s website to see a complete list of upcoming conferences as well as more information on speakers and topics addressed. Be sure to sign up in advance as space is limited in many cases and will fill quickly.

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EpiCypher’s CUT&RUN Technology Provides Multiple Advantages Over ChIP-Seq

Epigenetics refers to the study of chromatin structures and mechanisms that regulate gene expression independent of the underlying DNA sequence. Epigenetics and chromatin is a rapidly growing field of biomedical research, with implications in many diseases, including cancer, autoimmune diseases, and neurodegeneration. The base subunit of chromatin structure is the nucleosome, which consists of DNA wrapped around a histone octamer. Histone proteins are decorated with various post-translational modifications (or PTMs), which work together to form a “histone code” that regulates chromatin structure. Different combinations of PTMs have varying effects on gene expression, cell survival, and development of diverse human diseases, as noted above. Thus, accurate mapping of histone PTMs to the genome is key to understanding the role of chromatin structure in regulating gene expression and disease. There are several widely accepted methods researchers use to isolate and sequence chromatin marked with specific PTMs.

The most common method is chromatin immunoprecipitation, or ChIP, which uses antibodies to specific histone PTMs for enrichment of unique subsets of chromatin. The DNA associated with these histone PTMs then is isolated, sequenced, and mapped to the genome. However, one of the major problems that researchers experience when performing ChIP is that many histone PTM antibodies display poor specificity. Often, these antibodies bind multiple PTMs, in addition to their stated target, or they bind weakly to the target histone PTM (i.e. low enrichment). In addition, ChIP has high background, and requires enormous inputs (>500K cells) and sequencing depths (20-40 million reads per sample). Thus, although ChIP is a standard tool in the field, it is expensive, unreliable, and delivers low-quality data. New methods are desperately needed to improve the applications of chromatin to biomedical research and drug development.

How can EpiCypher CUTANA CUT&RUN assays improve your chromatin studies? The recent development of chromatin immunotethering technologies has transformed chromatin profiling studies, providing access to high-resolution data with reduced cell input and sequencing depth requirements. EpiCypher has developed robust tools and protocols for the Cleavage Under Targets and Released Using Nuclease method (CUT&RUN) with the recent launch of CUTANA CUT&RUN assays.

In CUT&RUN, cells are immobilized onto a solid support, permeabilized, and treated with a factor-specific antibody (i.e. histone PTM). A protein A- protein G fusion is then used to “tether” a Micrococcal Nuclease to antibody-bound chromatin. This pAG-MNase is activated by the addition of calcium to cleave DNA at antibody-bound loci, and clipped fragments diffuse out of the cell into the supernatant. These fragments are collected and sequenced by standard next-generation sequencing methods.

By selectively cleaving and isolating the target chromatin of interest, the data generated using EpiCypher CUTANA assays have vastly improved signal-to-noise and reduced background compared to ChIP, while also using fewer sequencing reads (2-5 million) and cells (<500K).

EpiCypher offers recombinantly produced pAG-MNase from E. coli for use in your ChIC and CUT&RUN assays.

Visit EpiCypher.com for more information, including the latest CUTANA CUT&RUN protocol.