Biological Functions of DNA Methyltransferase 1 Require Its Methyltransferase Activity

SUMOylation enhances DNA methyltransferase 1 activity.

DNA methylation regulates gene expression through a complex network of protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions in chromatin. The maintenance methylase, DNMT1 (DNA methyltransferase 1), is a prominent enzyme in the process that is linked to DNA replication and drives the heritable nature of epigenetic modifications. The mechanistic details that explain how DNMT1 catalytic action is directed...

Studies of Mechanisms Controlling Dna Methyltransferase 1 Studies of Mechanisms Controlling Dna Methyltransferase 1

We present a simple, non-radioactive assay for DNA methyltransferase activity and DNA binding. As most proteins are studied as GFP fusions in living cells, we used a GFP binding nanobody coupled to agarose beads (GFP nanotrap) for rapid one-step purification. Immobilized GFP fusion proteins were subsequently incubated with different fluorescently labeled DNA substrates. The absolute amounts and...

Angiostatic activity of DNA methyltransferase inhibitors.

Inhibitors of DNA methyltransferases (DNMT) and histone deacetylases can reactivate epigenetically silenced tumor suppressor genes and thereby decrease tumor cell growth. Little, however, is known on the effects of these compounds in endothelial cell biology and tumor angiogenesis. Here, we show that the DNMT inhibitors 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine and zebularine markedly decrease vessel formation in...

DNA ( cytosine - 5 ) - methyltransferase 1 - [ Isoform 1 ]

The murine equivalent of the human DNMT1 (DNA [cytosine-5]-methyltransferase 1; Swiss-Prot accession number: P26358) gene was deleted in ES cells via gene targeting [1]. Dnmt1-/cells possessed dramatically decreased genomic methylation and were viable; however, the mutation caused a homozygous lethal phenotype when introduced into the germline (see Table of experimental models for DNMT1) [1]. C...

DNMT 1 ( DNA ( cytosine - 5 - ) - methyltransferase 1 ) )