The epigentics group will focus on the interweaved pattern of DNA methylation on the one hand and histone acetylation and – methylation on the other hand of key genes in PD to provide an integrated chromatin analysis of DNA methylation patterns and histone modifications. Specifically, the methylation state of SNCA will be determined in various PD tissues (CNS and peripheral lymphocytes) and the global methylation status will be assessed in a genome wide approach to identify other differentially methylated genes. Established techniques will be developed further in collaboration with the NGFNplus epigenetics platform (longterm goal: methylation chips for PD) with a particular focus on expression-relevant sequence regions.