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Epigenomics of liver tumour induction and progression: use of a zebrafish model

Year:
2010
Duration:
24 months
Approved budget:
$253,849.00
Researchers:
Professor Ian Morison
Health issue:
Cancer (oncology)
Proposal type:
International Investment Opportunity
Lay summary
Global epidemiology of liver cancer reveals a high prevalence in South-east Asia, Australia and New Zealand.Molecular changes in liver tumour can be studied using human tumour samples or cancer cell lines.However, to study the molecular mechanisms of the induction and progression of the disease, there is a need for a vertebrate model.Zebrafish has been shown to be an ideal model for this approach.Our Singaporean collaborators have established zebrafish lines that can produce liver tumours by oncogene transgenics or carcinogens.Using these lines, they can monitor the induction and progression of tumours and analyse the molecular changes during their progression.We will use samples from their model to analyse epigenetics changes (DNA methylation and histone modifications) by using established techniques (ChIP-sequencing and genome-wide bisulphite methylation sequencing).This project will help us to understand the mechanisms of liver tumour leading to the development of molecular markers and therapeutics for the disease.