Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common malignancy in developed countries. The mortality is high, with nearly half of patients dying from the disease. The primary treatment of CRC is surgery, and decisions about additional treatment with chemotherapy are based mainly on tumor stage. Novel prognostic markers that identify patients at high risk of recurrence and cancer-related death are needed. The development of CRC has been described in terms of two different pathways; the microsatellite instability (MSI) and chromosomal instability (microsatellite stable, MSS) pathway. More recently, the CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP), characterized by frequent DNA hypermethylation, has been described as an alternative pathway of tumorigenesis. The event of DNA methylation is dependent on one-carbon metabolism, in which folate and vitamin B12 have essential functions. The purpose of this thesis was to study CIMP in CRC. The specific aims were to investigate the potential role of components of one-carbon metabolism as risk factors for this subgroup of tumors, and the prognostic importance of CIMP status, taking into consideration important confounding factors, such as MSI and tumor-infiltrating T cells. Methods CRC cases and referents included in the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Study (NSHDS, 226 cases and 437 referents) and CRC cases in the Colorectal Cancer in Umeå Study (CRUMS, n=490) were studied. Prediagnostic plasma concentrations of folate and vitamin B12 were analyzed in NSHDS. In both study groups, CIMP status was determined in archival tumor tissue by real-time quantitative PCR using an eight-gene panel (CDKN2A, MLH1, CACNA1G, NEUROG1, RUNX3, SOCS1, IGF2 and CRABP1). MSI screening status and the density of tumor-infiltrating T cells were determined by immunohistochemistry.  Results An inverse association was found between plasma concentrations of vitamin B12 and rectal, but not colon, cancer risk. We also found a reduced risk of CIMP-high and CIMP-low CRC in study subjects with the lowest levels of plasma folate. We found that patients with CIMP-low tumors in both NSHDS and CRUMS had a poorer prognosis compared with CIMP-negative, regardless of MSI screening status. We also found that MSS CIMP-high patients had a poorer prognosis compared with MSS CIMP-negative. The density of tumor-infiltrating T cells and CIMP status were both found to be independent predictors of CRC patient prognosis. A particularly poor prognosis was found in patients with CIMP-low tumors poorly infiltrated by T cells. In addition, the density of T cells appeared to be more important than MSI screening status for predicting CRC patient prognosis. Conclusion Rather than being one disease, CRC is a heterogeneous set of diseases with respect to clinico-pathological and molecular characteristics. We found that the association between risk and plasma concentration of vitamin B12 and folate depends on tumor site and CIMP status, respectively. Patient prognosis was found to be different depending on CIMP and MSI screening status, and the density of tumor-infiltrating T cells.

Primates are one of the best characterized phylogenies with vast amounts of comparative data available, including genomic sequences, gene expression, and epigenetic modifications. Thus, they provide an ideal system to study sequence evolution, regulatory evolution, epigenetic evolution as well as their interplays. Comparative studies of primate genomes can also shed light on molecular basis of human-specific traits. This dissertation is mainly composed of three chapters studying human and non-human primate evolution. The first study investigated evolutionary rate difference between sex chromosome and autosomes across diverse primate species. The second study developed an unbiased approach without the need of prior information to identify genomic segments under accelerated evolution. The third study investigated interplay between genomic and epigenomic evolution of humans and chimpanzees. Research advance 1: evolutionary rates of the X chromosome are predicted to be different from those of autosomes. A theory based on neutral mutation predicts that the X chromosome evolves slower than autosomes (slow-X evolution) because the numbers of cell division differ between spermatogenesis and oogenesis. A theory based on natural selection predicts an opposite direction (fast-X evolution) because newly arising beneficial mutations on the autosomes are usually recessive or partially recessive and not exposed to natural selection. A strong slow-X evolution is also predicted to counteract the effect of fast-X evolution. In our research, we simultaneously studied slow-X evolution, fast-X evolution as well as their interaction in a phylogeny of diverse primates. We showed that slow-X evolution exists in all the examined species, although their degrees differ, possibly due to their different life history traits such as generation times. We showed that fast-X evolution is lineage-specific and provided evidences that fast-X evolution is more evident in species with relatively weak slow-X evolution. We discussed potential contribution of various degrees of slow-X evolution on the conflicting population genetic inferences about human demography. Research advance 2: human-specific traits have long been considered to reside in the genome. There has been a surge of interest to identify genomic regions with accelerated evolution rate in the human genome. However, these studies either rely on a priori knowledge or sliding windows of arbitrary sizes. My research provided an unbiased approach based on previously developed “maximal segment” algorithm to identify genomic segments with accelerated lineage-specific substitution rate. Under this framework, we identified a large number of human genomic segments with clustered human-specific substitutions (named “maximal segments” after the algorithm). Our identified human maximal segments cover a significant amount of previously identified human accelerated regions and overlap with genes enriched in developmental processes. We demonstrated that the underlying evolutionary forces driving the maximal segments included regionally increased mutation rate, biased gene conversion and positive selection. Research advance 3: DNA methylation is one of the most common epigenetic modifications and plays a significant role in gene regulation. How DNA methylation status varies on the evolutionary timescale is not well understood. In this study, we investigated the role of genetic changes in shaping DNA methylation divergence between humans and chimpanzees in their sperm and brain, separately. We find that for orthologous promoter regions, CpG dinucleotide content difference is negatively correlated with DNA methylation level difference in the sperm but not in the brain, which may be explained by the fact that CpG depleting mutations better reflect germline DNA methylation levels. For the aligned sites of orthologous promoter regions, sequence divergence is positively correlated with methylation divergence for both tissues. We showed that the evolution of DNA methylation can be affected by various genetic factors including transposable element insertions, CpG depleting mutations and CpG generating mutations.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2007. / Härtill 6 uppsatser.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:56:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1722534 bytes, checksum: d8557488d35ade21ba45951fd8412a2f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-27 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / DNA methylation, characterized by the addition of a methyl group in cytosines within CpG dinucelotides can modified gene transcription, leading to decrease or even silence a gene. The ability of the environmental factors to induce epigenetic changes has been investigated and many studies have shown a relationship between them. Studies show that pesticides, metal ions, drugs, diet, alcohol dependence and smoking are associated with epigenetic changes. Smoking is often associated with the risk of cancer in various tissues and cardiovascular diseases, being considered the leading cause of preventable death. The MLH1 gene is related to the repair of badly paired bases of DNA (DNA mismatch repair (MMR)). The hTERT gene comprises the catalytic subunit of telomerase enzyme, which is considered a biological clock, a marker indicating that the cellular senescence can be installed inevitably form. The TP53 is a tumor suppressor gene and its hypermethylation is related to the development of various cancers. The aim of this work was to investigate the smoking habit influence on DNA methylation status in the promoter of cancer-related genes, MLH1, hTERT and TP53 in oral epithelial cells of healthy subjects. Samples of oral epithelium of smokers, nonsmokers and former smokers were collected by rinsing and DNA was extracted. After, DNA Methylation analysis was performed by Methylation Sensitive Restriction Enzymes, using two restriction enzymes, the HpaII and HhaI, which cleave different sites. Following the enzymatic digestion, DNA was amplified by PCR, subjected to electrophoresis on a 6% polyacrylamide gel and stained with silver nitrate. Statistical analysis was performed by Chi-square test at a significance level of 5%. The investigated CpG dinucleotides located at HhaI and HpaII sites in the MLH1 gene promoter were observed to be fully methylated in DNA majority samples from the smoker group and statistical differences were found between nonsmokers and smokers and between smokers and former smokers (p<0.05). The same was observed in the hTERT gene promoter at HhaI site (p<0.05) and for HpaII site the unmethylated condition was more frequent in smoker in comparison to nonsmokers (p<0.05). For TP53 no differences were found among groups (p>0.05) which the fully methylated condition was found to be an usual event in healthy oral epithelial cells. We conclude that smoking may induce changes in DNA methylation status in cancer-related genes, such as MLH1 and hTERT of healthy oral epithelial cells and the cessation of smoking reversed the process. / A metilação de DNA é uma modificação química na molécula de DNA, e consiste na presença de um radical metil em dinucleotídeos CpG, presente principalmente em regiões promotoras do gene. Uma das principais funções da metilação de DNA é regular a transcrição gênica, sendo que a presença do radical metil pode suprimir por completo a expressão gênica. Estudos mostram que o meio ambiente pode modular a metilação de DNA. Como exemplo de fatores ambientais temos: a radiação ultravioleta, agrotóxicos, dieta, fármacos, uso crônico do álcool e o hábito de fumar. O fumo é frequentemente associado ao risco de câncer em diversos tecidos e doenças cardiovasculares, sendo considerado a maior causa de morte evitável. O gene MLH1 está relacionado ao reparo de bases mal pareadas do DNA (DNA mismatch repair (MMR)). O gene hTERT compõe a subunidade catalítica da enzima telomerase, a qual é considerada um relógio biológico, um marcador que indica que a senescência celular poderá se instalar de forma inevitável. O TP53 é um gene supressor tumoral e sua hipermetilação está relacionada ao desenvolvimento de diversos tipos de câncer. Assim, o objetivo deste estudo foi investigar o efeito do tabagismo no perfil de metilação de DNA em genes relacionados ao câncer, MLH1, hTERT e TP53 em células da mucosa bucal de indivíduos saudáveis. Para tanto, amostras de epitélio da mucosa bucal de indivíduos fumantes, não fumantes e ex-fumantes foram coletadas por bochecho e o DNA dessas células foi extraído. Após esse processo, a análise de metilação de DNA foi feita utilizando o método de Digestão Enzimática Sensível à Metilação, utilizando-se de duas enzimas de restrição, a HhaI e a HpaII, as quais clivam sítios diferentes. Em seguida à digestão enzimática, DNA foi amplificado por PCR, submetido à eletroforese em gel de poliacrilamida a 6% e corado pelo nitrato de prata. A análise estatística foi realizada pelo Teste de Qui-Quadrado ao nível de significância de 5%. Os dinucleotídeos CpG localizados nos sítios HhaI e HpaII no promotor do gene MLH1 mostraram-se totalmente metilados na maioria dos indivíduos do grupo fumante e diferenças significativas foram observadas entre fumantes e não fumantes e entre fumantes e ex-fumantes (p<0,05). O mesmo foi observado para o sítio HhaI no promotor do gene hTERT (p<0,05) e para o sítio HpaII a condição não metilada foi mais frequente em fumantes em comparação com não fumantes (p<0,05). Para o gene TP53 não foram encontradas diferenças entre os grupos (p>0,05), sendo a condição totalmente metilada um evento usual das células saudáveis da mucosa bucal. Assim, concluímos que o fumo está associado a alterações no perfil de metilação de DNA em genes relacionados ao câncer, como MLH1 e hTERT em células epiteliais saudáveis da mucosa bucal e a cessação do hábito de fumar reverteu o processo.

One important objective of prostate cancer (PCa) research is to understand the molecular basis underlying the progression of these cancers from an androgen dependent to an androgen independent state. Hypermethylation of the promoter CpG islands is associated with the transcriptional silencing of specific gene sets in each tumor type and subtype. Transcriptional silencing of antitumor genes via CpG island hypermethylation could be a mechanism mediating PCa progression from an androgen-dependent to an androgen-independent state. Hypermethylation associated gene silencing has been reported for a great number of genes in PCa with the exception of the genes that undergo methylation associated silencing specifically during cancer development to androgen independence. The first aim of this thesis is to identify novel glenes which undergo DNA hypermethylation associated gene silencing during the cancer progression. The androgen-dependent (AD, as defined as the inability of celill to proliferate in the absence of androgen) PCa cell line LNCaP gives rise to the androgen-independent (AI) subline LNCaPcs generated by maintaining LNCaP in medium with charcoal-stripped (CS) serum for over 30 passages. This LNCaP cell model was used to identify differentially methylated sequences between the two genomes using the Methylation-Sensitive Restriction Fingerprinting (MSRF) technique. One sequence identified is located in a 5' CpG island, which encompasses part of the promoter, exon 1, and part of intron 1, of the Peroxisomal Membrane Protein 24 KD (PMP24) gene. PMP24 is silenced in concert with the hypermethylation of its CpG island in AI LNCaPcsand PC-3 cell lines. The silencing is reactivated by the treatment with a DNA methyltransferase inhibitor, 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5AZAdC). PMP24 is specifically silenced in PCa cancer cell lines and shows potential antitumor properties. These results demonstrate the utility of MSRF in the identification of novel, differentially methylated DNA sequences in the genome and suggest that hypermethylation-mediated silencing of PMP24 is an epigenetic event involved in PCa progression to androgen independence. The next study investigated the molecular mechanism for DNA methylation associated gene silencing of PMP24 in AI LNCaPcs and PC-3 cell lines. We demonstrated that PMP24 transcription is repressed by the disruption of transcription factor binding to a critical cis-element by hypermethylation of its promoter CpG island. We found a CpG containing activator protein 2 (AP-2) cis-element in the intron 1 of PMP24 whose first CpG dinucleotidle is essential for the sequence-specific protein binding and the promoter activity of the gene. We presented first in cellulo evidence that the methylation of AP-2 cis-element alone but not the whole CpG island, using a newly developed methylated oligonucleotides treatment, is sufficient for the downregulation of PMP24. Our study is the first to report that the silencing mechanism for PMP24 in AI LNCaPcs and PC-3 is mediated by the complete methylation of a single GpG site of AP-2 cis-element in the intron 1 part of the CpG island, which interferes with transcription factor binding. Most interestingly, the promoter CpG island of PMP24 is hypermethylated in AD LNCaP cells with the incomplete methylation specifically at the AP-2 cis-element. The silencing of PMP24 in AD LNCaP cells was reactivated not by the 5AZAdC treatment but by the treatment with Trichostatin A (TSA), a histone deacetylase inhibitor. An alternative silencing mechanism for PMP24 other than the interference with transcription factor binding by methylation is therefore likely involved at this androgen-dependent stage. During the androgen ablation process, this mechanism is either evolved by the spread of methylation in the promoter CpG island or selected against, leading to the methylation-dominant silencing mechanism in the AI cells as seen in LNCaPcsand PC-3 cells. Taken together, this thesis emphasized the important role of DNA methylation in the progression of PCa into androgen independence. Particular respect should be paid to the specific CpG dinucleotides in cis-elements critical for the promoter activity, whose complete methylation could dominate the silencing mechanism which is independent of androgen. This thesis also pointed to the importance of monitoring the effects of cell culture on the methylation status of genes. Most importantly, this thesis raised the possibility that the silencing mechanisms for PMP24 could be different in AD LNCaP cells as compared to AI LNCaPcs and PC-3 cells. Either the evolution of such mechanism or the selectivity against it during the androgen ablation process would result in a methylation-dominant silencing mechanism of the genes such as PMP24 in AI cells and may contribute to the overall androgen independence of the cells.

La protéine UHRF1 est impliquée dans le maintien et la transmission des modifications épigénétiques. Lors du processus de réplication, elle recrute la méthyltransférase de l’ADN Dnmt1 au niveau des sites CpG hémi-méthylés via son domaine SRA (SET and RING Associated), favorisant la duplication des profils de méthylation. La structure tridimensionnelle du complexe SRA/ADN révèle que la protéine induit un basculement de la méthylcytosine qui permet un ancrage spécifique de la protéine sur les sites hémim éthylés, facilitant le recrutement de la Dnmt1 au niveau de ces positions stratégiques. Dans ce contexte, notre projet vise à comprendre les mécanismes d’interaction du domaine SRA de UHRF1 avec l’ADN hémi-méthylé. Des oligonucléotides doubles brins ont été marqués à la 2-aminopurine, un analogue nucléosidique fluorescent sensible à l’environnement, à différentes positions au voisinage d’un unique site de reconnaissance CpG hémi-méthylé. Les mesures de spectroscopie de fluorescence à l’état stationnaire et résolues en temps de ces duplexes liés au domaine SRA nous ont permis de caractériser de manière site spécifique les changements conformationnels induits par la liaison du domaine SRA. En accord avec la structure tridimensionnelle du complexe SRA/ADN, nos données suggèrent que le domaine SRA est capable de basculer la méthylcytosine tout en préservant la structure des autres bases dans le duplexe. Le domaine SRA semble se lier selon le même mécanisme aux duplexes hémi-méthylés, bi-méthylés et non-méthylés. La protéine UHRF1 jouerait ainsi un rôle de “lecteur“ capable de scanner la séquence d’ADN à la recherche de sites hémi-méthylés. / The UHRF1 protein plays a key role in the maintenance and transmission of epigenetic modifications. Duringthe replication process, it recruits the DNA methyltransferase Dnmt1 to hemi-methylated CpG sites via itsSRA (SET and RING Associated) domain, promoting the duplication of the methylation profiles. Thetridimensional structure of the SRA/DNA complex revealed that the protein induces a base-flipping of themethylcytosine that enables a specific anchoring of the protein to hemi-methylated sites facilitating therecruitment of Dnmt1 to this strategic position. In this context, our project was aimed to further understand themechanism of interaction of the SRA domain with hemi-methylated DNA. To this end, oligonucleotideduplexes were labeled by 2-aminopurine, a fluorescent nucleoside analogue sensitive to environment, atvarious positions close to the single hemi-methylated CpG recognition site. Steady-state and time-resolvedfluorescence spectroscopy measurements of these duplexes bound to the SRA domain enabled us to sitespecificallycharacterize the conformational changes induced by the binding of this domain. In agreement withthe tridimensional structure of the SRA/DNA complex, our data suggest that the SRA domain is able to flip themethylcytosine while preserving the structure of the surrounding bases in the duplex. The SRA domain wasshown to bind with the same mechanism to hemi-methylated, fully-methylated and non-methylated duplexes.Our data suggest the UHRF1 protein plays a role of “reader” that scans the DNA sequence for hemimethylatedsites.

La consommation répétée de drogues induit une plasticité cérébrale, qui pourrait sous-tendre le développement de la dépendance. La protéine phosphatase de type 1 (PP1) étant un acteur majeur de ces processus, nous nous sommes intéressés à sa régulation par la cocaïne. Nous avons montré qu’un traitement chronique par la cocaïne induit la répression du gène codant la sous-unitécatalytique β de PP1 (PP1Cβ), via l’hyperméthylation de sa région promotrice et le recrutement de la protéine de liaison à l’ADN méthylé, Mecp2. Cette répression, observée dans les principales structures du système de récompense du Rat, pourrait favoriser l’état phosphorylé des récepteurs NMDA et AMPA du glutamate et du facteur de transcription CREB, potentialisant ainsi les effets de la cocaïne. PP1 étant souvent considérée comme un régulateur négatif de la mémoire, sa répression pourrait également favoriser la ‘mémorisation’ du contexte et des habitudes liés à la drogue. L’expression de PP1Cβ a ensuite été analysée en réponse à des injections passives ou volontaires de cocaïne dans un test de conditionnement opérant, l’auto-administration intraveineuse. Étonnamment, une répression similaire de PP1Cβ est observée quel que soit le mode d’administration de la cocaïne. Son expression est par contre différente lorsque la cocaïne est remplacée par de la nourriture : elle est induite par le conditionnement opérant, sans être affectée par une distribution passive de nourriture. Le gène PP1Cβ participe donc sans doute aux neuroadaptations différentielles induites par les drogues et les récompenses naturelles, ouvrant ainsi de nouvelles perspectives dans la compréhension des effets à long terme des drogues. / Repeated intake of drugs of abuse is known to induce brain plasticity, which may underlie the development of drug addiction. Protein phosphatase type-1 (PP1) is one of the key proteins involved in brain plasticity mechanisms. We therefore studied its regulation in response to repeated cocaine intake by rats. The gene encoding the β catalytic subunit of PP1 (PP1Cβ) was found to be repressed by chronic cocaine treatment, through a mechanism involving DNA methylation of the PP1Cβ 5’-end followed by the recruitment of the methyl binding protein Mecp2. This repression was observed in the major brain structures of the reward system and probably favors the phosphorylation state of NMDA and AMPA glutamatergic receptors and of CREB transcriptionfactor, thus further increasing cocaine effects. PP1 is also known as a negative regulator of memory formation. Its repression by cocaine may therefore potentiate the ‘memorization’ of cocaine-related habits and context. PP1Cβ expression was next compared in response to passive vs voluntary cocaine injections in an operant intravenous cocaine self-administration paradigm. Surprisingly, a similar repression of PP1Cβ was found, independently on the cocaine administration mode. A completely different pattern of expression was observed when cocaine administration was replaced by food intake, as PP1Cβ expression was increased during food operant self-administration, but not in response to passive food delivery. Taken together, our data suggest that PP1Cβ participates to the differential neuroadaptations induced by drugs of abuse and natural rewards. They shed somenew light on the long-term mechanisms induced by drugs of abuse.

Les cancers du sein ont la particularité de développer un microenvironnement tumoral important où les fibroblastes associés au cancer (CAF) jouent un rôle crucial dans la tumorigénèse via la sécrétion de différents facteurs de croissance, cytokines, protéases et composants de la matrice extracellulaire. Ces différents facteurs secrétés par les CAFs sont impliqués dans de nombreuses voies de signalisation suggérant que la reprogrammation des cellules cancéreuses par les CAFs peut affecter de nombreux gènes.Le séquençage des ARN messagers (RNAseq) de lignées cellulaires de cancer du sein cultivées en présence de milieux conditionnés de CAF, nous a permis d'identifier 372 gènes surexprimés in vitro par les facteurs sécrétés par les CAF et in vivo selon la teneur en cellules stromales des tumeurs mammaires. De façon inattendue, nous avons pu constater que les facteurs sécrétés par les CAF ainsi que le contenu en cellules stromales des tumeurs n'induisent pas de changements significatifs de méthylation de l'ADN mais activent de manière spécifique des gènes caractérisés par une signature méthylation. Différentes approches expérimentales, telles que l'inhibition de la méthylation de l'ADN, l'inhibition de l'expression de la protéine MBD2 (protéines de liaison à l'ADN méthylé) et des expériences d'immuno-précipitation de la chromatine (ChIP) ont permis de montrer l'implication de ces marques de méthylation et des protéines de liaison à l'ADN méthylé dans la réponse des cellules cancéreuses aux facteurs sécrétés par les CAFs. Ces résultats ont permis l'identification d'événements moléculaires impliqués dans la réponse des cellules tumorales aux signaux sécrétés par les cellules stromales dans les tumeurs mammaires mettant en lumière l'importance des marques épigénétiques dans la reprogrammation des cellules cancéreuses induites par les cellules stromales / Breast cancers develop in complex tissue environments where cancer associated fibroblasts (CAF) play a crucial role in tumorigenesis by secreting various growth factors, cytokines, proteases and extracellular matrix components. Soluble factors secreted by CAFs are involved in many pathways including inflammation, metabolism, proliferation, and epigenetic modulation suggesting that CAF-dependent reprograming of cancer cells affects a large set of genes. From RNAseq data obtained from breast cancer cell lines grown in presence of CAF-secreted factors, we identified 372 upregulated genes exhibiting an expression level positively correlated with the stromal content of breast cancer specimens. Furthermore, we observed that gene expression changes were not mediated through significant DNA methylation changes. Nevertheless CAF-secreted factors but also stromal content of the tumors remarkably activated specific genes characterized by a DNA methylation signature: hypermethylation at transcription start site (TSS) and shore regions. Experimental approaches (inhibition of DNA methylation, knockdown of MBD2, and ChIP assays) demonstrated the implication of DNA methylation and methyl DNA binding protein in the response of cancers cells to CAF-secreted factors. These data put in light the importance of epigenetics marks in the cancer cell reprogramming induced by stromal cell and indicate that the interpreters of the DNA methylation signal play a major role in the response of the cancer cells to the microenvironment

DNA methylation is an important epigenetic mark spanning all of life's kingdoms. In humans, DNA methylation has been associated with a wide range of age-related pathologies, including type II diabetes and cancer. More recently, in humans, changes in DNA methylation at specific positions in the genome have been found to be predictive of chronological age. Interestingly, DNA methylation age is also predictive of health status and time-to-death. A better understanding of what these DNA methylation changes represent and whether they might be causative in the ageing process will be important to ascertain. However, at present there is no animal model system with which this process can be studied at a mechanistic level. Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly apparent that many disease states that increase in prevalence with age are not caused by all cells within the individual, but are often the result of changes to a subset of cells. This underscores the importance of studying these processes at the single cell level. The recent advances in single cell sequencing approaches now mean that we can study multiple layers of biology within the same single cell, such as the epigenome and the transcriptome (scM&T-Seq). Unfortunately, we are still only able to probe these important aspects of single cell biology in a static sense. This is a major limitation in the study of ageing because ageing and age-related disease processes are inherently dynamic. As such, it is incumbent upon us to develop approaches to assay single cell biology in a dynamic manner. 
In this thesis, I describe an epigenetic age predictor in the mouse. This predictor is tissue-independent and can accurately predict age (with an error of 3.33 weeks) and can record deviations in biological age upon interventions including ovariectomy and high fat diet both of which are known to reduce lifespan. Next, I describe the analysis of a homogeneous population of muscle satellite cells (MuSCs) that I have interrogated at the single cell level, using single cell combined transcriptome and methylome sequencing (scM&T-seq). I found that with age there was increased global transcriptional variability and increased feature-specific methylome variability. These findings explain the loss of functionality of these cells with age. Lastly, I describe two imaging approaches to study DNA methylation dynamically in single cells. Using these methods, I demonstrate that it is possible to accurately determine methylation status across a wide spectrum of global methylation levels and that by using such approaches novel information about dynamic methylation processes can be obtained. These methods represent the first to study DNA methylation dynamically.

Submitted by Vasti Diniz (vastijpa@hotmail.com) on 2017-09-05T12:51:09Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1137139 bytes, checksum: e12ef38589083b7a6e2b1cbb011a5ed4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-05T12:51:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1137139 bytes, checksum: e12ef38589083b7a6e2b1cbb011a5ed4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-27 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / DNA methylation is a key process for the regulation of gene expression by reversible inactivation of genes. Environmental factors such as solar radiation, can alter the DNA methylation profile. MMP-9 protein is part of a collagenases family whose function is to remodel the extracellular matrix, which presents itself very active in the early stages of cancer and photoaging. MicroRNAs are non-coding RNA molecules that act as post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression by degrading or repressing the target messenger RNA. It is estimated that about 10% of microRNA expression is controlled via DNA methylation. The microRNA-137 has tumor suppressor function in various types of cancer, including squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma. The aim of our study was to analyze the influence of sun exposure on the DNA methylation profile of matrix metalloprotease-9 (MMP9) and microRNA-137 (MIR137) genes of skin cells. To this purpose, skin samples were analyzed, which were obtained from sun-exposed and sun-protected areas from 28 corpses of both sexes, aged 30-89 years with no history of skin diseases obtained from the Brazilian Service of Death Investigation. Genomic DNA was extracted using Trizol and with the aid of a tissue homogenizer. The DNA methylation analysis was performed using Methylation Specific PCR (MSP) by previous modification of the DNA with sodium bisulfite. The amplified samples were subjected to electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gel followed by staining with silver nitrate. Statistical analysis was performed using the McNemar paired test at a significance level of 5%. No differences were found among the areas (p>0.05), with the partially methylated condition found to be a common event in skin for both MMP9 (96.4% of samples) and MIR137 (60.4% of samples). We conclude that sun exposure does not induce changes in DNA methylation status in the studied CpG sites. / A metilação do DNA constitui um dos principais processos para a regulação da expressão gênica através da inativação reversível dos genes. Fatores ambientais tais como a radiação solar, podem alterar o perfil de metilação de DNA. A proteína MMP-9 faz parte de uma família de colagenases cuja função é a remodelação da matriz extracelular, apresentando-se muito ativa em fases iniciais do câncer e do fotoenvelhecimento. Os microRNAs são moléculas de RNA não codificantes que agem como reguladores pós-transcricionais da expressão gênica através da degradação ou repressão do RNA mensageiro alvo. Estima-se que cerca de 10% da expressão de microRNAs é controlada via metilação de DNA. O microRNA-137 possui função de supressor tumoral em vários tipos de câncer, incluindo o carcinoma espinocelular e melanoma. O objetivo do trabalho foi analisar a influência da exposição solar sobre o perfil de metilação de DNA dos genes da metaloprotease de matriz-9 (MMP9) e microRNA-137 (MIR137) em células da pele. Para isso, foram analisadas amostras de pele obtidas de uma área exposta e não exposta ao sol de 28 cadáveres de ambos os sexos, com idade entre 30-89 anos sem histórico de doenças de pele obtidas no Serviço de Verificação de Óbitos da Paraíba (SVO). O DNA genômico foi extraído dos tecidos utilizando-se Trizol e após homogeneização com auxílio de um homogeneizador de tecidos. A análise de metilação de DNA foi realizada pela técnica de PCR Específica para Metilação (MSP), através da prévia modificação do DNA com bissulfito de sódio. As amostras amplificadas foram submetidas à eletroforese em gel de poliacrilamida seguidas de coloração por nitrato de prata. A análise estatística foi realizada pelo teste pareado McNemar ao nível de significância de 5%. A análise revelou que não há diferença significativa entre as regiões exposta e não exposta ao sol, sendo a condição parcialmente metilada a mais frequente para ambos os genes MMP9 (96,4% das amostras) e MIR137 (60,4% das amostras) (p>0,05). Deste modo, concluímos que não há influência da exposição solar no perfil de metilação de DNA nos sítios CpG estudados.