Multicellular organisms establish and maintain different transcriptional states in disparate cell types through complex and specific regulation of gene expression. This regulation is mediated by the cooperative binding of transcription factors (TFs) to regulatory elements through the recognition of specific DNA sequence motifs. Additionally, the physical access of TFs to DNA can be modulated by epigenetic regulation, such as DNA methylation, nucleosome positioning and histone modifications. Failure to maintain this tight regulation of gene expression results in developmental defects and various diseases including cancer. We use both computational and experimental approaches and integrate genomic data to study TF binding and its regulation in cellular systems.
Transcription factor sensitivity to DNA methylation
Héberlé & Bardet 2019
Transcription factor binding to genomic regions
Leporcq et al. 2020
Funding sources
- ANR JCJC (2023-2026) – Understanding transcription factor binding in the context of chromatin
- Ligue Nationale contre le Cancer (2020-2023) – PhD fellowship to D. Balaramane
- Plan Cancer: Systems Biology Grant (2018-2023) – Identification of transcription factors causing aberrant DNA methylation in cancer cells
- University of Strasbourg: IDEX Attractivité Grant (2018-2020) – Transcription factor sensitivity to DNA methylation
- CNRS / University of Strasbourg: Basic support
