Division of Cancer Epigenomics

• Epigenetic characterization of major malignancies, including leukemias as well as lung, breast and prostate cancer
• Genome-wide screens for the identification of aberrant DNA methylation
• Characterization of genes identified as epigenetic targets
• Mechanisms of epigenetic gene regulation
• Development of mouse models relevant for epigenetic studies
• Development of novel biomarkers relevant for early diagnosis, treatment response and therapy resistance

• Cancer Epigenomics: Prof. Dr. Christoph Plass
• Cancer Chemoprevention and Epigenomics: Dr. Clarissa Gerhäuser
• DNA Repair and Epigenomics: Dr. Peter Schmezer
• Computational Cancer Epigenomics: Dr. Pavlo Lutsik

• Costello JF, Frühwald MC, Smiraglia DJ, Rush L, Robertson GP, Gao X, Wright F, Feramisco JD, Peltomäki P, Lang JC, Schuller DE, Yu L, Bloomfield C, Caligiuri M, Yates A, Nishikawa R, Su Huang H-J, Petrelli NJ, Zhang X, O’Dorisio MS, Held WA, Cavenee WK, Plass C. Aberrant CpG island methylation has non-random and tumor type specific patterns. Nat Genet 25:132-138, 2000. Abstract 
• Yu L, Liu C, Vandeusen J, Becknell B, Dai Z, Wu Y, Raval A, Liu T, Ding W, Mao C, Liu S, Smith LT, Lee S, Rassenti L, Marcucci G, Byrd J, Caligiuri MA and Plass C. Global assessment of promoter methylation in a murine model of cancer identifies ID4 as a putative novel tumor suppressor gene in human leukemia. Nat Genet 37:265-274, 2005. Abstract
• Raval A, Tanner S, Byrd J, Angerman E, Perko J, Chen S-S, Grever M, Lucas D, Matkovic J, Lin T, Kipps T, Murry F, Weisenburger D, Sanger W, Lynch J, Watson P, Jansen M, Yoshinaga Y, Rosenquist R, de Jong P, Coggill P, Beck S, Lynch H, de la Chapelle A, Plass C. Down-regulation of death associated protein kinase 1 (DAPK1) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Cell 129: 879-890, 2007. Abstract
• Claus R, Lucas DM, Stilgenbauer S, Ruppert AS, Yu L, Zucknick M, Mertens D,  Bühler A, Oakes CC, Larson RA, Kay NE, Jelinek DF, Kipps TJ, Rassenti LZ, Gribben JG, Döhner H, Heerema NA, Marcucci G, Plass C, Byrd JC. Quantitative DNA Methylation Analysis Identifies a Single CpG Dinucleotide Important for ZAP-70 Expression and Predictive of Prognosis in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. J Clin Oncol. 2012, 30: 2483-91. Abstract
• Weischenfeldt J, Simon R, Feuerbach L, Schlangen K, Weichenhan D, Minner S, ... Sauter G, Plass C, Brors B, Yaspo ML, Korbel JO, Schlomm T. Integrative genomic analyses reveal an androgen-driven somatic alteration landscape in early-onset prostate cancer. Cancer Cell 2013, 23: 159-70. Abstract
• Arab K, Park YJ, Lindroth AM, Schäfer A, Oakes C, Weichenhan D, Lukanova A, Lundin E, Risch A, Meister M, Dienemann H, Dyckhoff G, Herold-Mende C, Grummt I, Niehrs C, Plass C.Long Noncoding RNA TARID Directs Demethylation and Activation of the Tumor Suppressor TCF21 via GADD45A. Mol Cell 2014, 55: 604-14. Abstract
• Cabezas-Wallscheid N, Klimmeck D, Hansson J, Lipka DB, Reyes A, Wang Q, Weichenhan D, Lier A, von Paleske L, Renders S, Wünsche P, Zeisberger P, Brocks D, Gu L, Herrmann C, Haas S, Essers MA, Brors B, Eils R, Huber W, Milsom MD, Plass C, Krijgsveld J, Trumpp A. Identification of regulatory networks in HSCs and their immediate progeny via integrated proteome, transcriptome, and DNA Methylome analysis. Cell Stem Cell. 2014; 15: 507-22. Abstract
• Gu L, Frommel SC, Oakes CC, Simon R, Grupp K, Gerig CY, Bär D, Robinson MD, Baer C, Weiss M, Gu Z, Schapira M, Kuner R, Sültmann H, Provenzano M; ICGC Project on Early Onset Prostate Cancer, Yaspo ML, Brors B, Korbel J, Schlomm T, Sauter G, Eils R, Plass C, Santoro R. BAZ2A (TIP5) is involved in epigenetic alterations in prostate cancer and its overexpression predicts disease recurrence. Nat Genet 2015; 47(1): 22-30. Abstract
• Oakes CC, Seifert M, Assenov Y, Gu L, Przekopowitz M, Ruppert AS, Wang Q, Serva A, Koser S, Brocks D, Lipka D, Bogatyrova O, Mertens D, Zapatka M, Lichter P, Döhner H, Küppers R, Zenz T, Stilgenbauer S, Byrd JC and Plass C. Progressive epigenetic programming during B cell maturation yields a continuum of disease phenotypes in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Nat Genet 2016; 48: 253-64. Abstract
• Brocks D, Schmidt CR, Daskalakis M, Jang HS, Shah NM, Li D, Li J, Zhang B, Hou Y, Laudato S, Lipka DB, Schott J, Bierhoff H, Assenov Y, Helf M, Ressnerova A, Islam MS, Lindroth AM, Haas S, Essers M, Imbusch CD, Brors B, Oehme I, Witt O, Lübbert M, Mallm JP, Rippe K, Will R, Weichenhan D, Stoecklin G, Gerhauser C, Oakes CC, Wang T, Plass C. DNMT and HDAC inhibitors induce cryptic transcription start sites encoded in long terminal repeats. Nat Genet. 2017; 49(7): 1052-1060. doi: 10.1038/ng.3889. Abstract
• Gerhauser C, Favero F, Risch T, Simon R, Feuerbach L, Assenov L, ... Brors B, Sauter G, Plass C, Yaspo ML, Korbel JO, Schlomm T, Weischenfeldt J. Molecular evolution of early onset prostate cancer identifies novel molecular risk markers and clinical trajectories. Cancer Cell 2018, 34(6): 996-1011 Abstract
• Touzart A, Mayakonda A, Smith C, Hey J, Toth R, Cieslak A, Andrieu GP, Tran Quang C, Latiri M, Ghysdael J, Spicuglia S, Dombret H, Ifrah N, Macintyre E, Lutsik P, Boissel N, Plass C, Asnafi V. Epigenetic analysis of patients with T-ALL identifies poor outcomes and a hypomethylating agent-responsive subgroup. Sci Transl Med. 2021, 13: eabc4834. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abc4834. Abstract
• Hey J, Paulsen M, Toth R, Weichenhan D, Butz S, Schatterny J, Liebers, Lutsik P, Plass C & Mall MA. Epigenetic reprogramming of airway macrophages drives polarization and inflammation in muco-obstructive lung disease. Nat Commun. 2021, 12: 6520. Abstract

• Division Head
• Secretary

• Helmholtz International Graduate School for Cancer Research
• Open positions

For information on available datasets please go to the European Genome-phenome Archive.

• DKFZ-Epigenomics Data Transfer Agreement and Form (PDF) (PDF | 800,43 KB)
• DKFZ-Epigenomics Data Transfer Agreement and Form (Word doc) (DOCX | 94,21 KB)