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The Nestor Lab (Epigenetic Control of Human T-cell Biology)

Two researchers working in a lab.

Human development results in the establishment and maintenance of hundreds of functionally distinct cell types from a single invariant DNA sequence, our genome.

How different cell states are established, maintained and passed on during cell division is controlled by gene regulatory networks and epigenetics which serve to reinforce a cell’s molecular identity. DNA methylation is an epigenetic system essential for human life that is often disrupted in disease.

My research aims to understand the function of DNA methylation in the biology of human CD4+ T-cells, and use this knowledge to dissect its role in disease. Understanding the function of DNA methylation in normal human biology, will allow us to understand its role in disease, with the ultimate goal of developing new drugs that target DNA methylation.

Research video

Video

Flaw discovered in epigenetics research method

An error in one of the most widely used methods in epigenetics, DIP-seq, can cause misleading results, researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, have shown. This may have major significance in the research field, where “big data” and advanced methods of DNA analysis are used to study vast amounts of epigenetic data.

Co-workers

Principal Investigator

Photo of Colm Nestor

Colm Nestor

Senior Associate Professor

Research Group

Photo of Maike Bensberg

Maike Bensberg

Postdoc

Photo of Björn Gylemo

Björn Gylemo

PhD student

Photo of Sandra Hellberg

Sandra Hellberg

Assistant Professor

Photo of Shadi Jafari

Shadi Jafari

Principal Research Engineer

Photo of Ingela Johansson

Ingela Johansson

Research Engineer

Photo of Aida Selimovic

Aida Selimovic

PhD student

Photo of Huan Zhang

Huan Zhang

Principal Research Engineer, Docent

News and articles

Colm Nestor.

The ultimate goal: To cure childhood cancer

Colm Nestor is aiming at a better outcome for all children diagnosed with cancer. The funding from the Joanna Coccozzas stiftelse will help his research group on the way.
Colm Nestor.

SEK 22 million ERC grant to research on sex-bias in disease

Associate professor Colm Nestor has been awarded a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) of approximately SEK 22 million over the next 5 years. The funding will be used to research sex bias in human disease.
close-up, the hand of a child in hospital bed.

Existing drug opens new possibilities for treating child leukemia

A new study has shown that the tumour-inhibiting gene TET2 is silenced in a large fraction of cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children. The scientists show that the gene can be reactivated by an existing drug.

Publications

Colm Nestor - Google Scholar >>

 

Latest publications in LiU DiVA

2022

Rasmus Magnusson, Olof Rundquist, Min Jung Kim, Sandra Hellberg, Chan Hyun Na, Mikael Benson, David Gomez-Cabrero, Ingrid Kockum, Jesper N. Tegner, Fredrik Piehl, Maja Jagodic, Johan Mellergård, Claudio Altafini, Jan Ernerudh, Maria Jenmalm, Colm Nestor, Min-Sik Kim, Mika Gustafsson (2022) RNA-sequencing and mass-spectrometry proteomic time-series analysis of T-cell differentiation identified multiple splice variants models that predicted validated protein biomarkers in inflammatory diseases Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, Vol. 9, Article 916128 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Olof Rundquist, Colm Nestor, Maria Jenmalm, Sandra Hellberg, Mika Gustafsson (2022) Progesterone Inhibits the Establishment of Activation-Associated Chromatin During T(H)1 Differentiation Frontiers in Immunology, Vol. 13, Article 835625 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Tejaswi Badam, Sandra Hellberg, Ratnesh Bhai Mehta, Jeannette Lechner-Scott, Rodney A. Lea, Jorg Tost, Xavier Mariette, Judit Svensson-Arvelund, Colm Nestor, Mikael Benson, Göran Berg, Maria Jenmalm, Mika Gustafsson, Jan Ernerudh (2022) CD4(+) T-cell DNA methylation changes during pregnancy significantly correlate with disease-associated methylation changes in autoimmune diseases Epigenetics, Vol. 17, p. 1040-1055 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI

Research areas

Astma och allergi Foto: istock

Autoimmunity and allergy

Autoimmune diseases and allergies are, as a rule, chronic conditions, which can cause significant impairment of function and can sometimes be life-threatening.
Cancerceller, illustration

Cancer and Hematology

Cancer is a unifying concept for a number of diseases where abnormal cells divide , sometimes uncontrolled and invading other tissues.

Research funders

Logotype Swedish Child Cancer Foundation

Logotype Region Östergötland.


Logotype of The Swedish Cancer Society.

 

 

 

Logotype of The Joanna Cocozza Foundation.

Logo Swedish research council.

 

 

LiU Cancer's logotype.

Organisation

Teaser image for the Division BKH at BKV.

Division of Children's and Women's Health (BKH)

The Division of Children’s and Women’s Health consists of a number of different research and educational areas - obstetrics / gynecology and pediatrics.

Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences (BKV)

What characterizes the Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences (BKV) is the wide breadth of research and education. BKV is one of the largest departments at LiU with affiliation mainly to the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.

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