Projektnummer

0058109

Zusammenfassung

DNA methylation is a principal epigenetic mechanism to regulate gene expression and numerous diseases are impacted by aberrant methylation patterns. Recent studies brought to attention that substantial levels of circulating methylated DNA fragments can be detected in the blood. This project is based on the central hypothesis that circulating methylated DNA fragments are not a mere reflection of intracellular epigenetic mechanisms, but that they have an immune-modulatory bioactivity, independent of its epigenetic transcriptional control function.