Laboratory of Cancer Epigenetics, ULB, Faculty of Medicine - Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium
" In recent years epigenetics has become an essential component of biological research, playing key roles in many physiopathological conditions. Recent work in viral epigenetics highlighted these modifications as an essential mechanism in modulating many viruses life cycles. To date, whether this holds true also for SARS-CoV-2 remains unknown, let alone the potential use of epigenetics inhibitors as novel antiviral therapy against SARS-CoV-2. • To address these unanswered questions and to respond to the current international urge of new therapeutic approaches against COVID-19, our study, which would uncover a link between epigenetics and SARS-CoV-2, aim to provide innovative advances for SARS-CoV-2 biology and therapy: • Overall, we will generate a comprehensive dataset aiming at expanding further our understanding of the biological functions of epigenetic modifications in the SARS-CoV-2 viral cycle as well as provide key insights into novel and effective molecular targets for developing antiviral treatments against SARS-CoV-2 based on epigenetics." 
Funding: N/A
Publication References: Viré E, Brenner C, Deplus R, Blanchon L, Fraga M, Didelot C, Morey L, Van Eynde A, Bernard D, Vanderwinden JM, Bollen M, Esteller M, Di Croce L, de Launoit Y, Fuks F. The Polycomb group protein EZH2 directly controls DNA methylation. Nature. 2006 Feb 16;439(7078):871-4. Delatte B, Wang F, Ngoc LV, Collignon E, Bonvin E, Deplus R, Calonne E, Hassabi B,Putmans P, Awe S, Wetzel C, Kreher J, Soin R, Creppe C, Limbach PA, Gueydan C, Kruys V, Brehm A, Minakhina S, Defrance M, Steward R, Fuks F. Transcriptome wide distribution and function of RNA hydroxymethylcytosine. Science. 2016 Jan 15;351(6270):282-5.
Contact: Prof. François Fuks Laboratory of Cancer Epigenetics WELBIO Investigator ULB-Cancer Research Center/U-CRC Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) Faculty of Medicine 808 route de Lennik, 1070 Brussels, Belgium