Seminars

Epigenetic Code and Diseases

Sung Hee Baek

Department of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea

Epigenetic regulation plays a crucial role in various biological processes, including gene expression control and the development of human diseases. Histones and histone modifying enzymes undergo a wide range of epigenetic modifications such as phosphorylation, acetylation, methylation, ubiquitination, SUMOylation, ADP ribosylation, deamination, and proline isomerization. These post-translational modifications have the ability to influence the activity of transcription factors and histone modifying enzymes, thereby altering the chromatin state to either activate or repress gene expression. In this presentation, I will provide an in-depth exploration of our current endeavors to uncover the mechanisms underlying epigenetic regulation in the contexts of regeneration and cancer. Our ongoing research focuses on understanding how epigenetic modifications contribute to the regulation of gene expression during these critical processes. Specifically, I will shed light on a recently discovered signaling crosstalk regulated by an epigenetic reader that possesses E3 ubiquitin ligase activity. By exploring this novel pathway, we aim to understand its implications in the contexts of tissue regeneration and cancer development.