Single-molecule sequence and high sensitivity methylation analysis for tissue-specific analysis

1 . A method of linking one or more modification(s) of the nucleic acid sequence of at least one nucleic acid and at least one epigenetic alteration of said at least one nucleic acid in a sample of a subject to a specific cell type, comprising:

a) sequencing at least one nucleic acid from a sample derived from a body fluid of the subject to obtain the nucleic acid sequence of said at least one nucleic acid and to obtain at least a part of an epigenetic profile of said at least one nucleic acid;

b) comparing said nucleic acid sequence to a first reference database to obtain one or more modification(s) thereof, wherein the first reference database is selected from the group of databases consisting of The Cancer Genome Atlas; Ensemble; Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM); MethHC; Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer (COSMIC); Cancer Gene Census; Database of short genetic variations (dbSNP); Exome Sequencing Project (ESP); 1000 Genomes; 10000 genomes; database for non-synonymous SNPs (dbNSFP); and Cancer Moonshot;

c) comparing the at least part of the epigenetic profile of said at least one nucleic acid to a second reference database comprising a methylation database to obtain a specific cell type associated with the at least part of the epigenetic profile; and

d) linking the one or more modification(s) of the at least one nucleic acid sequence obtained in step b) to the specific cell type of step c);

wherein the sequencing of the at least one nucleic acid from the sample to obtain the nucleic acid sequence of said at least one nucleic acid and to obtain the at least part of an epigenetic profile of said at least one nucleic acid corresponding to a specific cell type is carried out using a method selected from nanopore sequencing, single-molecule based sequencing, tunneling based detection or any combination thereof, and

wherein step b) and step c) are carried out simultaneously.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the linking of the one or more modification(s) of the at least one nucleic acid sequence of the specific cell type of the subject is used to determine a malfunction of the specific cell type of the subject.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the subject is a human.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least part of the epigenetic profile of said at least one nucleic acid is further compared to a third reference database to determine a malignant epigenetic change.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least part of the epigenetic profile is a methylation pattern of the nucleic acid sequence.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the nucleic acid sequence of said at least one nucleic acid and the at least a part of the epigenetic profile of said at least one nucleic acid corresponding to a specific cell type are simultaneously obtained.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more modification(s) of the at least one nucleic acid sequence obtained in step b) comprises single nucleotide deletion, insertion, or substitution.

8 . A method of determining a malignant condition of a specific cell type in a subject, comprising:

a) sequencing at least one nucleic acid from a sample derived from a body fluid of the subject to obtain the nucleic acid sequence of said at least one nucleic acid and to obtain at least a part of an epigenetic profile of said at least one nucleic acid;

b) comparing said nucleic acid sequence to a first reference database to obtain one or more modification(s) thereof that are indicative of a malignant condition, wherein the first reference database is selected from the group of databases consisting of The Cancer Genome Atlas; Ensemble; Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM); MethHC; Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer (COSMIC); Cancer Gene Census; Database of short genetic variations (dbSNP); Exome Sequencing Project (ESP); 1000 Genomes; 10000 genomes; database for non-synonymous SNPs (dbNSFP); and Cancer Moonshot;

c) comparing the at least part of the epigenetic profile of said at least one nucleic acid to a second reference database comprising a methylation database to obtain a specific cell type associated with the at least part of the epigenetic profile; and

d) linking the one or more modification(s) of the at least one nucleic acid sequence that are indicative of a malignant condition obtained in step b) to the specific cell type obtained in step c);

wherein the sequencing of the at least one nucleic acid from the sample to obtain the nucleic acid sequence of said at least one nucleic acid and to obtain the at least part of an epigenetic profile of said at least one nucleic acid corresponding to a specific cell type is carried out using a method selected from nanopore sequencing, single-molecule based sequencing, tunneling based detection or combinations thereof, and

wherein step b) and step c) are carried out simultaneously.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the subject is a human.

10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the at least part of the epigenetic profile of said at least one nucleic acid is further compared to a third reference database to determine a malignant epigenetic change.

11 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the nucleic acid sequence of said at least one nucleic acid and the at least a part of the epigenetic profile of said at least one nucleic acid corresponding to a specific cell type are simultaneously obtained.

12 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the one or more modification(s) of the at least one nucleic acid sequence obtained in step b) comprises single nucleotide deletion, insertion, or substitution.

13 . A method for locating malignant disease in a subject, the method comprising:

a) obtaining (i) a sequence and (ii) at least a part of an epigenetic profile of at least one nucleic acid from a sample from the subject using nanopore sequencing, single-molecule based sequencing, tunneling based detection or combinations thereof;

b) detecting one or more sequence modification(s) in the at least one nucleic acid using a first reference database, wherein the first reference database is selected from the group of databases consisting of The Cancer Genome Atlas; Ensemble; Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM); MethHC; Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer (COSMIC); Cancer Gene Census; Database of short genetic variations (dbSNP); Exome Sequencing Project (ESP); 1000 Genomes; 10000 genomes; database for non-synonymous SNPs (dbNSFP); and Cancer Moonshot;

c) detecting a specific cell type for the at least one nucleic acid using a second reference database, wherein the second reference database comprises a methylation database; and

d) locating the malignant disease by linking the one or more sequence modification(s) detected in b) to the specific cell type detected in c),

wherein step b) and step c) are carried out simultaneously.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein obtaining (i) the sequence and (ii) at least a part of the epigenetic profile of the at least one nucleic acid occur simultaneously.

15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the one or more sequence modification(s) comprises single nucleotide deletion, insertion, or substitution.

16 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the methylation database is selected from the group consisting of MethyCancer; MethHC; Methylation and Expression database of Normal and Tumor tissues (MENT), MethylomeDB, NGSmethDB, DiseaseMeth, MethBase, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and NIH Roadmap Epigenomics Mapping Consortium.

17 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising detecting malignant epigenetic change from a third reference database using the at least a part of the epigenetic profile of the at least one nucleic acid.

18 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the at least part of the epigenetic profile is a methylation pattern of the nucleic acid sequence.

19 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the subject is a human.