EMIL (Epigenetic Marker Ipomethylated for Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia) originates from the economic and scientific valorization of patent EP3458607, which concerns the use of an epigenetic signature for prognostic and/or diagnostic applications in the early assessment of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL). Patent EP3458607 reports that, in APL patients, there are specific chromatin regions characterized by DNA hypomethylation and/or histone hyperacetylation.
EPI-C introduces an innovative and advanced prototype, EMIL, capable of determining the methylation status of cytosine residues within a defined set of genomic regions previously identified and covered by patent EP3458607, intended for in vitro diagnostic (IVD) applications.
EMIL represents a rapid, user-friendly, reliable, effective, and cost-efficient diagnostic and prognostic tool for patients with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL). The specific pattern of epigenetic modifications, or epigenetic signature, is associated with resistance to standard therapy and/or with low overall survival (OS), and therefore holds clinical relevance for both prognosis and diagnosis.
The kit is based on methylated DNA immunoprecipitation (MeDIP) followed by real-time PCR analysis to determine the methylation levels of specific genomic regions in DNA samples isolated from APL patients. Comparative analysis with the hypo- and hyper-methylated controls provided in the kit allows the identification of high-risk Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia patients.