First the genome, and now the human epigenome is being placed under the microscope. Researchers from all over the world working under the umbrella of the 2010-founded International Human Epigenome Consortium (IHEC) are investigating the small chemical markings on genetic material and surrounding proteins. These serve as keys for whether and which genes are transcribed, and which remain silent. The first major European IHEC project began in Amsterdam in early October with the participation of German scientists. It is being funded with 30 million euros by the European Commission.

It has been known for some time that the smallest chemical changes in the DNA (DNA methylation) and on the side chains of proteins, which coil up the two meter-long spiral molecule, determine which genes can be actively transcribed, and which remain silent. The field of epigenetics is occupied with this automatic on and off switch. As a result of the many indications of links between the pattern of DNA methylation and the incidence of diseases such as cancer, researchers last year began for the first time to systematically capture and collect all disease-related chemical changes in the DNA – the epigenome. The objective of the International Human Epigenome Consortium (IHEC) it is to determine the epigenome of all human cells. The IHEC partners hope to analyse a total of 1,000 sick and healthy cell types using fully automated DNA sequencing machines.

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The first IHEC project involving European researchers began work at the beginning of October, at some cost to the European Commission. At 30 million euros, the BLUEPRINT project is one ­of the most expensive individual ­EU projects to date. “The blueprint project is pursuing the objective of translating genetic information into functional biology,” says EPI epigenome expert Jörn Walter. Alongside 48 other academic research groups and eight companies, the professor from the University of the Saarland is one of the members in the BLUEPRINT Consortium. Together, the scientists hope to shed light on the role played by epigenetic marks in the pathogenesis of diseases such as blood cancer and type 1 diabetes.

Epigenome project Looking to find out more about the European epigenome project? The researchers have written about their plans on their website:
www.blueprint-epigenome.eu

To these ends, it is planned to investigate DNA methylation and its influence on the activity of genes in 50 blood cell types in healthy and leukaemia patients, as well as eight blood cell types from diabetics. The scientists then create genetic maps on the basis of more than one hundred aggregated epigenomes, which give them information for diagnostic purposes on genetic and epigenetic changes in diseased cells. This assists in the search for new points of attack for drugs against cancer and Type 1 diabetes. “The most important aspect, however, is that a database is created that for the first time provides comparative epigenetic data for future biomedical research projects,” says Walter.

German epigenome project in the pipeline
Also alongside Walter on the German side are working groups from the universities of Ulm, Kiel and Lessen. The German biotech companies Cellzome from Heidelberg and Genomatix from Munich are likewise members of the team. In the year to come there is also likely to be a purely German epigenome genome consortium under the auspices of the IHEC. Relevant networks have until May to apply to the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for potential funding. An evaluation process is currently underway. At the beginning of the BLUEPRINT project in Amsterdam, BMBF representatives announced that a positive assessment would likely result in German participation in the IHEC by next summer.
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