BLUEPRINT - A BLUEPRINT of Haematopoietic Epigenomes

The BLUEPRINT Project is a five-year project to further the understanding of how genes are activated and repressed in healthy and diseased human blood cells and their precursors. The BLUEPRINT Consortium is made up of 42 leading European universities, research institutes and industry entrepreneurs, and ran from October 2011 to September 2016.

Archive Page

This page is maintained as a historical record and is no longer being updated.

The BLUEPRINT project started on October 1, 2011 and ran until September 30, 2016. This page is being maintained as a historical record of the project and is no longer being updated.

About BLUEPRINT

The BLUEPRINT consortium was formed with the aim to further the understanding of how genes are activated or repressed in both healthy and diseased human cells. BLUEPRINT focussed on distinct types of haematopoietic cells from healthy individuals and on their malignant leukaemic counterparts. Its original aim was to generate at least 100 reference epigenomes and study them to advance and exploit knowledge of the underlying biological processes and mechanisms in health and disease. This aim fed into the overall objective of the International Human Epigenome Consortium (IHEC). Reference epigenomes were generated by state-of-the-art technologies from highly purified cells for a comprehensive set of epigenetic marks in accordance with quality standards set by IHEC.

The project’s resource-generating activity was complemented by hypothesis-driven research into blood-based diseases, including common leukaemias and autoimmune disease (Type 1 Diabetes), by discovery and validation of epigenetic markers for diagnostic use and by epigenetic target identification. Since epigenetic changes are reversible, they can be targets for the development of novel and more individualised medical treatments.

The aim of involving innovative companies in the project was to energize epigenomic research in the private sector through the development of smart technologies for better diagnostic tests and by identifying new targets for compounds. It is hoped that the results of the BLUEPRINT project may lead to targeted diagnostics, new treatments and preventive measures for specific diseases in individual patients – an approach known as ‘personalised medicine’.

The BLUEPRINT project started on October 1, 2011 and ran until September 30, 2016.
BLUEPRINT was funded from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement No 282510.