Molecular Biology

Epigenetics is a relatively new specialty in medicine and biology. It deals with unusual heredity patterns or unusual patterns of protein expression.

Therefore everything basic is fixed in the DNA, but it seems possible to modify or rewrite this in the broadest sense by environmental factors.

Which properties are inherited on daughter cells is not only dependent on the DNA sequence. Chromosomes or individual genes can be significantly influenced in their activity. This is called "epigenetic imprinting". The DNA sequence is retained but modified and often shut down (DNA methylation or alteration of histones).

We not only receive DNA from our parents but also complete chromosomes. These are surrounded by proteins (histones). These are also passed on. In this way much more information can be transferred from parents to offspring than previously assumed.

It remains to be seen, however, to what extent this information leads to the inheritance of epigenetic changes. This is a research approach, which we mainly get to the bottom of using the molecular mechanisms of the cell membranes.

Another aspect we are investigating is epigentic drug research and the associated findings for cancer research.