DMMC Course: MOLECULAR CELL BIOLOGY IN ACTION

0930-1050 Wednesday 9 November 2005. UCD Conway Institute Lecture Theatre

Epigenetics in normal and disease states
Dr Amanda McCann (UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular & Biomedical Research)

This lecture will introduce the area of genomic imprinting with specific examples of imprinted genes, and how alterations in the expression of these parent-of-origin genes underlies well characterised diseases including the Prader-Willi and Angelman Syndromes. Importantly, the role altered imprinting plays in the development of cancer will be addressed. In the context of non-imprinted autosomal genes, DNA hypermethylation of promoter regions resulting in transcriptional silencing of key tumour suppressor genes will be covered in relation to tumour development. The reversibility of promoter hypermethylation using in vitro demethylation agents will also be discussed.