Introduction At many points during development and adult life, cells have to react to regulatory cues, and decide between self-renewal and entering terminal differentiation. To do so, they integrate many inputs from their environment and their own developmental programme. This workshop aimed to explore the role of chromatin and epigenetics in the coordinated regulation of cell division and diff...

In the process of cellular carcinogenesis, genetic and epigenetic mechanisms contribute to abnormal expression of genes. Conrad Waddington introduced the term ‘‘epigenetics’’ in 1942 (Goldberg, Allis et al. 2007) to describe heritable changes in gene expression that have no connection with changes in DNA sequence (Yoo and Jones 2006; Goldberg, Allis et al. 2007). The molecular basis of epigenet...

The epigenetic regulation of chromatin structure and composition has often been studied molecularly in the context of specific DNA-dependent processes. However, epigenetics also play important global roles in shaping and maintaining cell identity, and in patterning the body plan during normal development. Moreover, alterations in epigenetic regulation are involved in many diseases, including ca...

Epigenetics does not get the recognition it deserves, say its proponents. " Our struggle in this fi eld has been to convince the community that epigenetics really has a major role in human disease , " said Peter Jones , D.Sc., director of the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Jones and 39 other scientists are now trying to convince fundi...