What Techniques are Used to Study Epigenetic Changes in Cancer?
Several advanced techniques are employed to study epigenetic changes in cancer:
1. Bisulfite Sequencing: This technique is used to detect DNA methylation by converting unmethylated cytosines to uracil, which are then read as thymine during sequencing.
2. Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP): ChIP is used to study histone modifications and transcription factor binding by using antibodies to isolate specific protein-DNA complexes.
3. RNA Sequencing (RNA-seq): RNA-seq is used to analyze the expression of non-coding RNAs, providing insights into their role in cancer.
4. ATAC-seq: This technique assesses chromatin accessibility to identify regions of open chromatin, which are often associated with active gene expression.
