Dr. Brock Christensen published a paper in Nature Communications identifying the role of two DNA modifications, 5-methylcytosine (5mC) and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC), in a set of 30 glioblastomas, and their relationship with patient survival. "An intense interest has emerged in detailing the functional role of distinct DNA modifications in both healthy and disease tissues," said Christensen. "Here, we uncovered that specific DNA 5mC and 5hmC patterns are disrupted in GBM and uniquely characterize the molecular switches of the genome known as 'enhancers.' Importantly, we discovered that 5hmC signatures had a particularly strong association with patient survival."
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