Latest news with #CentreforGenomicRegulation
North Wales Chronicle
22-05-2025
- Health
- North Wales Chronicle
DNA ‘barcodes' shed light on how the blood ages
It is hoped the discovery could help prevent illnesses such as blood cancer or heart disease before symptoms appear. It could also pave the way for the exploration of therapies that slow down or reverse ageing, researchers suggested. The study, published in the journal Nature, identified stem cells that gradually take over blood production between the ages of 50 and 60. These cells, known as 'clones', prefer to produce myeloid cells, a type of immune cell linked to chronic inflammation. Young people have between 50,000 and 200,000 stem cells, which are responsible for replacing between 100 billion and 200 billion blood cells every day. 'As we age, some of these stem cells disappear and their function needs to be taken over by others, which then expand,' said Dr Lars Velten, group leader at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona. 'And by the age of 50 or 60, we get these clones. This is a group of cells that stem from the same mother stem cell. 'And these clones are important because they are first step in leukaemia formation, and they also contribute to inflammation, because the blood cells that derive from them are emitting molecules that fuel the inflammation process, and therefore there's also this link to heart disease risk.' According to Dr Velten, tracking every blood cell back to its original stem cell has been possible only in animal research. His team looked at changes in the chemical tags, known as methylation marks, attached to DNA. Theses tags help cells know which genes to switch on and off, and when a stem cell divides, methylation marks are copied to its daughter cells. 'This is sort of like having a unique barcode for every cell when we're young, and then this barcode identifies all the descendants, all the children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, of these cells as we age,' Dr Velten added. To read these 'barcodes', scientists developed a technique known as EPI-Clone. They used it to reconstruct the history of blood production in both mice and humans, tracing which stem cells contributed to making blood. In older mice, EPI-Clone showed that blood stem cells comprised just a few dozen large clones. The pattern was also found in humans, with larger clones taking over blood production from age 50. This discovery could one day allow doctors to look at how a patient's blood is ageing, potentially years before diseases develop, researchers suggested. Dr Alejo Rodriguez-Fraticelli, also group leader at IRB Barcelona, said: 'The idea is that this could be an early intervention tool for cancers, starting with blood cancers, where we know that expansions in these stem cells identify individuals that are at risk of developing blood malignancies.' The study also found many of the dominant clones produced myeloid cells, which are linked to chronic inflammation. Research using mice has shown removing these particular clones can rejuvenate blood stem cells. Researchers are hopeful the tool could pave the way for the exploration of rejuvenation therapies in humans as it allows for scientists to pinpoint problematic clones. Dr Rodriguez-Fraticelli added: 'If we target the expanded clones, there may be the hope that we may ablate them and then let the diversity of the hematopoietic system, the blood regeneration system, really rejuvenate.' Dr Velten said: 'If we want to move beyond generic anti-ageing treatments and into real precision medicine for ageing, this is exactly the kind of tool we need. 'We can't fix what we can't see and for the first time, EPI-Clone can facilitate this for humans.'
Leader Live
21-05-2025
- Health
- Leader Live
DNA ‘barcodes' shed light on how the blood ages
It is hoped the discovery could help prevent illnesses such as blood cancer or heart disease before symptoms appear. It could also pave the way for the exploration of therapies that slow down or reverse ageing, researchers suggested. The study, published in the journal Nature, identified stem cells that gradually take over blood production between the ages of 50 and 60. These cells, known as 'clones', prefer to produce myeloid cells, a type of immune cell linked to chronic inflammation. Young people have between 50,000 and 200,000 stem cells, which are responsible for replacing between 100 billion and 200 billion blood cells every day. 'As we age, some of these stem cells disappear and their function needs to be taken over by others, which then expand,' said Dr Lars Velten, group leader at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona. 'And by the age of 50 or 60, we get these clones. This is a group of cells that stem from the same mother stem cell. 'And these clones are important because they are first step in leukaemia formation, and they also contribute to inflammation, because the blood cells that derive from them are emitting molecules that fuel the inflammation process, and therefore there's also this link to heart disease risk.' According to Dr Velten, tracking every blood cell back to its original stem cell has been possible only in animal research. His team looked at changes in the chemical tags, known as methylation marks, attached to DNA. Theses tags help cells know which genes to switch on and off, and when a stem cell divides, methylation marks are copied to its daughter cells. 'This is sort of like having a unique barcode for every cell when we're young, and then this barcode identifies all the descendants, all the children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, of these cells as we age,' Dr Velten added. To read these 'barcodes', scientists developed a technique known as EPI-Clone. They used it to reconstruct the history of blood production in both mice and humans, tracing which stem cells contributed to making blood. In older mice, EPI-Clone showed that blood stem cells comprised just a few dozen large clones. The pattern was also found in humans, with larger clones taking over blood production from age 50. This discovery could one day allow doctors to look at how a patient's blood is ageing, potentially years before diseases develop, researchers suggested. Dr Alejo Rodriguez-Fraticelli, also group leader at IRB Barcelona, said: 'The idea is that this could be an early intervention tool for cancers, starting with blood cancers, where we know that expansions in these stem cells identify individuals that are at risk of developing blood malignancies.' The study also found many of the dominant clones produced myeloid cells, which are linked to chronic inflammation. Research using mice has shown removing these particular clones can rejuvenate blood stem cells. Researchers are hopeful the tool could pave the way for the exploration of rejuvenation therapies in humans as it allows for scientists to pinpoint problematic clones. Dr Rodriguez-Fraticelli added: 'If we target the expanded clones, there may be the hope that we may ablate them and then let the diversity of the hematopoietic system, the blood regeneration system, really rejuvenate.' Dr Velten said: 'If we want to move beyond generic anti-ageing treatments and into real precision medicine for ageing, this is exactly the kind of tool we need. 'We can't fix what we can't see and for the first time, EPI-Clone can facilitate this for humans.'
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Nature Publication Shows Mission Bio's Tapestri® Platform Enables Real-Time, Single-Cell Tracking of Precancerous Clones Using Natural Epigenetic Markers
Epigenetic barcoding incorporating Tapestri unlocks high-throughput single-cell lineage tracing of clonality with or without mutation drivers, a previously invisible precursor to cancer development EPI-clone, developed by researchers at Centre for Genomic Regulation and Institute for Research in Biomedicine, tracks clonal dynamics in hematopoiesis with naturally occurring DNA methylation patterns, laying the groundwork for discovering new cancer progression mechanisms and therapeutic targets SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 21, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mission Bio, a leader in single-cell multiomics solutions for precision medicine, today announced a new publication in Nature leveraging its Tapestri Platform to develop a single-cell barcoding method for high-throughput cell lineage tracing. Study leader Lars Velten and his team at Spain's Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), working with a group led by Alejo Rodriguez-Fraticelli at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB), used Tapestri as a basis to develop EPI-clone, which combines single-cell multi-omics with the readout of naturally occurring DNA methylation patterns as molecular barcodes for tracing clonality – the rapid proliferation of specific cells that precedes development of cancer. The method could be used to identify drug targets on pre-cancer clones that prevent disease progression, like methylation patterns as for epigenetic drugs like DNA methylation transferase inhibitors. Lineage tracing holds the potential to explain how premalignant conditions like clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) can progress into hematologic cancers, and how cancerous subclones persist in relapse. Traditional methods for lineage tracing can be complex, low-throughput, or even harmful to normal cellular function. In the paper, titled "Clonal tracing with somatic epimutations reveals dynamics of blood aging," EPI-clone utilizes natural epigenetic patterns that are highly stable over long time scales. Using Mission Bio's Tapestri Platform for high-throughput multi-omics measurement, researchers successfully captured hundreds of clonal differentiation trajectories across 230,358 single cells in both mouse and human hematopoiesis, with dual readout of epimutational barcodes and cell state information. "EPI-clone provides insights into clonal selection during aging, potentially guiding the development of personalized, preventative treatments for diseases like cancers," said Velten. "The scale of our findings could only have been enabled by Tapestri, which allowed us simultaneous observation of single-cell genotype, phenotype, and clone." "The impressive results of this study are a first step toward truly identifying, and therefore understanding, how certain clones contribute to cancer progression before they expand," said Adam Sciambi, Chief Technology Officer at Mission Bio. "We look forward to continued collaboration with the CRG team and others as we support the use of the Tapestri Platform's unique capabilities to make novel discoveries that change the course of disease understanding and treatment." In aging mice, the researchers found that low output of old hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) is restricted to a small number of expanded clones, while many functionally young clones persist in old age. In human aging, the team showed that clones associated with known clonal hematopoiesis (CH) mutations are part of a broader spectrum of age-related clonal expansions, with and without known driver mutations, displaying similar lineage biases. The results also showed that clonal complexity declines with age, leading to oligoclonal blood production. To learn more about Tapestri and its ability to provide single-cell DNA + protein analysis at unmatched resolution, please visit About Mission Bio Mission Bio is a leading life science company, specializing in the advancement of single-cell DNA and multiomics analysis. The company's Tapestri Platform is unique in its capabilities, offering an unparalleled level of granularity and precision that is critical for complex research areas such as cancer studies, pharmaceutical development, and advanced cell and gene therapies. Unlike traditional methods such as bulk sequencing, Tapestri provides a level of precision that opens the door for more tailored and effective treatment strategies. Researchers globally depend on Tapestri to identify rare cell populations, understand mechanisms of therapeutic resistance and response, and establish key quality metrics for next-generation medical treatments. Founded in 2014, Mission Bio has secured investment from firms including Mayfield Fund, Novo Growth, Cota Capital, and Agilent Technologies. With the Tapestri Platform, Mission Bio is setting the standard in the field, contributing significantly to the progress of personalized medicine and targeted therapies. To learn more about Mission Bio and the Tapestri Platform, please visit View source version on Contacts Media Contact Consort Partners for Mission Biomissionbio@
Powys County Times
21-05-2025
- Health
- Powys County Times
DNA ‘barcodes' shed light on how the blood ages
Scientists have discovered 'barcodes' embedded in DNA that shed light on how the blood ages. It is hoped the discovery could help prevent illnesses such as blood cancer or heart disease before symptoms appear. It could also pave the way for the exploration of therapies that slow down or reverse ageing, researchers suggested. The study, published in the journal Nature, identified stem cells that gradually take over blood production between the ages of 50 and 60. These cells, known as 'clones', prefer to produce myeloid cells, a type of immune cell linked to chronic inflammation. Young people have between 50,000 and 200,000 stem cells, which are responsible for replacing between 100 billion and 200 billion blood cells every day. 'As we age, some of these stem cells disappear and their function needs to be taken over by others, which then expand,' said Dr Lars Velten, group leader at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona. 'And by the age of 50 or 60, we get these clones. This is a group of cells that stem from the same mother stem cell. 'And these clones are important because they are first step in leukaemia formation, and they also contribute to inflammation, because the blood cells that derive from them are emitting molecules that fuel the inflammation process, and therefore there's also this link to heart disease risk.' According to Dr Velten, tracking every blood cell back to its original stem cell has been possible only in animal research. His team looked at changes in the chemical tags, known as methylation marks, attached to DNA. Theses tags help cells know which genes to switch on and off, and when a stem cell divides, methylation marks are copied to its daughter cells. 'This is sort of like having a unique barcode for every cell when we're young, and then this barcode identifies all the descendants, all the children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, of these cells as we age,' Dr Velten added. To read these 'barcodes', scientists developed a technique known as EPI-Clone. They used it to reconstruct the history of blood production in both mice and humans, tracing which stem cells contributed to making blood. In older mice, EPI-Clone showed that blood stem cells comprised just a few dozen large clones. The pattern was also found in humans, with larger clones taking over blood production from age 50. This discovery could one day allow doctors to look at how a patient's blood is ageing, potentially years before diseases develop, researchers suggested. Dr Alejo Rodriguez-Fraticelli, also group leader at IRB Barcelona, said: 'The idea is that this could be an early intervention tool for cancers, starting with blood cancers, where we know that expansions in these stem cells identify individuals that are at risk of developing blood malignancies.' The study also found many of the dominant clones produced myeloid cells, which are linked to chronic inflammation. Research using mice has shown removing these particular clones can rejuvenate blood stem cells. Researchers are hopeful the tool could pave the way for the exploration of rejuvenation therapies in humans as it allows for scientists to pinpoint problematic clones. Dr Rodriguez-Fraticelli added: 'If we target the expanded clones, there may be the hope that we may ablate them and then let the diversity of the hematopoietic system, the blood regeneration system, really rejuvenate.' Dr Velten said: 'If we want to move beyond generic anti-ageing treatments and into real precision medicine for ageing, this is exactly the kind of tool we need. 'We can't fix what we can't see and for the first time, EPI-Clone can facilitate this for humans.'
South Wales Guardian
21-05-2025
- Health
- South Wales Guardian
DNA ‘barcodes' shed light on how the blood ages
It is hoped the discovery could help prevent illnesses such as blood cancer or heart disease before symptoms appear. It could also pave the way for the exploration of therapies that slow down or reverse ageing, researchers suggested. The study, published in the journal Nature, identified stem cells that gradually take over blood production between the ages of 50 and 60. These cells, known as 'clones', prefer to produce myeloid cells, a type of immune cell linked to chronic inflammation. Young people have between 50,000 and 200,000 stem cells, which are responsible for replacing between 100 billion and 200 billion blood cells every day. 'As we age, some of these stem cells disappear and their function needs to be taken over by others, which then expand,' said Dr Lars Velten, group leader at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona. 'And by the age of 50 or 60, we get these clones. This is a group of cells that stem from the same mother stem cell. 'And these clones are important because they are first step in leukaemia formation, and they also contribute to inflammation, because the blood cells that derive from them are emitting molecules that fuel the inflammation process, and therefore there's also this link to heart disease risk.' According to Dr Velten, tracking every blood cell back to its original stem cell has been possible only in animal research. His team looked at changes in the chemical tags, known as methylation marks, attached to DNA. Theses tags help cells know which genes to switch on and off, and when a stem cell divides, methylation marks are copied to its daughter cells. 'This is sort of like having a unique barcode for every cell when we're young, and then this barcode identifies all the descendants, all the children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, of these cells as we age,' Dr Velten added. To read these 'barcodes', scientists developed a technique known as EPI-Clone. They used it to reconstruct the history of blood production in both mice and humans, tracing which stem cells contributed to making blood. In older mice, EPI-Clone showed that blood stem cells comprised just a few dozen large clones. The pattern was also found in humans, with larger clones taking over blood production from age 50. This discovery could one day allow doctors to look at how a patient's blood is ageing, potentially years before diseases develop, researchers suggested. Dr Alejo Rodriguez-Fraticelli, also group leader at IRB Barcelona, said: 'The idea is that this could be an early intervention tool for cancers, starting with blood cancers, where we know that expansions in these stem cells identify individuals that are at risk of developing blood malignancies.' The study also found many of the dominant clones produced myeloid cells, which are linked to chronic inflammation. Research using mice has shown removing these particular clones can rejuvenate blood stem cells. Researchers are hopeful the tool could pave the way for the exploration of rejuvenation therapies in humans as it allows for scientists to pinpoint problematic clones. Dr Rodriguez-Fraticelli added: 'If we target the expanded clones, there may be the hope that we may ablate them and then let the diversity of the hematopoietic system, the blood regeneration system, really rejuvenate.' Dr Velten said: 'If we want to move beyond generic anti-ageing treatments and into real precision medicine for ageing, this is exactly the kind of tool we need. 'We can't fix what we can't see and for the first time, EPI-Clone can facilitate this for humans.'
