Impact of cytosine modifications in gene regulation and their role in haematological malignancies

The vast majority of cytosines in a CG context in the mammalian genome are covalently modified by methylation (mC) or oxidized methylcytosine derivatives (5hmC, 5fC, and 5caC). The patterns of these modifications are highly cell type-specific and change dynamically during development and differentiation. Several components of the cellular machinery that maintain these epigenetic landscapes have been found to be mutated in cancer. In this seminar, I will give insights into the function of Ten-Eleven Translocation (TET) proteins in DNA methylation homeostasis and how genetic disruption of TET2 can promote oncogenic transformation of hematopoietic cells.