Chromatin Structure and Gene Function

PI: Imre Miklós Boros, PhD. DSc., professor

The DNA of our cells carries the genetic inheritance from cell to cells through generations and directs the expression of this inheritance by providing the information for the synthesis of proteins.
Within the nucleus of the cell, the DNA is wrapped around histone proteins forming nucleosomes. The nucleosomal organization ensures the accommodation of very large amount of DNA in the small nuclear compartment; however it also inhibits the expression of genes. As a result of the tight interaction between DNA and histones different regions of our genetic material is expressed in different cells types of our body, despite that we carry the complete inheritance within each cells. In order to turn on or turn off genes therefore the interactions between the DNA and the histones should be altered. These alterations result regularly from the activities of chromatin modifier proteins and other transcription factors. Missregulation of them could lead therefore very serious diseases, such as for example the different forms of cancer.
The primary objective of our group is to explore mechanisms that result changes in chromatin structure and gene expression. In particular we study DNA and histone interactions and modifications in cancer cells. Our aim is to explore alterations which can be used to detect changes leading to cancer and therefore could be used as diagnostic markers.
For this we use cells grown in tissue culture and clinical samples and apply various techniques of DNA, RNA and protein analysis.

All publications on: PubMed