DNA methylation is a mechanism of epigenetic regulation that is common to all vertebrates. Functional studies underscore its relevance for tissue homeostasis, but the global dynamics of DNA methylation during in vivo differentiation remain underexplored. Here we report high-resolution DNA methylation maps of adult stem cell differentiation in mouse, focusing on 19 purified cell populations of t...

Epigenetic information regulates gene function and has important effects on development in eukaryotic organisms. DNA methylation, one such form of epigenetic information, has been implicated in the regulation of gene function in diverse metazoan taxa. In insects, DNA methylation has been shown to play a role in the regulation of gene expression and splicing. However, the functional basis for th...

Starvation-induced differentiation of the slime mould Physarum polycephalum is accompanied by continuous methylation of DNA. No stable changes in the overall level of DNA methylation are evident, but a gene known to be transcribed specifically during differentiation is subject to increased methylation. Inhibitors of DNA methylation preclude differentiation of P. polycephalum, although they are ...

In mammals it is unclear if UHRF1-mediated DNA maintenance methylation by DNMT1 is strictly dependent on histone H3K9 methylation. Here we have generated an Uhrf1 knockin (KI) mouse model that specifically abolishes the H3K9me2/3-binding activity of Uhrf1. The homozygous Uhrf1 KI mice are viable and fertile, and exhibit ∼10% reduction of DNA methylation in various tissues. The reduced DNA methy...

OBJECTIVES We aimed to explore the DNA methylation difference between lung cancer samples and non-cancer lung samples, and to investigate the role of DNA methylation in the mechanism of lung cancer development. Besides, we analyzed the transcriptional regulation network of DNA methylation and the miRNAs regulated by DNA methylation. This study provides a framework for DNA methylation in other t...

BACKGROUND Hundreds of genes with differential DNA methylation of promoters have been identified for various cancers. However, the reproducibility of differential DNA methylation discoveries for cancer and the relationship between DNA methylation and aberrant gene expression have not been systematically analysed. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Using array data for seven types of cancers, we f...

At the imprinted Rasgrf1 locus in mouse, a cis-acting sequence controls DNA methylation at a differentially methylated domain (DMD). While characterizing epigenetic marks over the DMD, we observed that DNA and H3K27 trimethylation are mutually exclusive, with DNA and H3K27 methylation limited to the paternal and maternal sequences, respectively. The mutual exclusion arises because one mark prev...

Epigenetic silencing by promoter methylation of genes associated with cancer initiation and progression is a hallmark of tumour cells. As a consequence, testing for DNA methylation biomarkers in plasma or other body fluids shows great promise for detection of malignancies at early stages and/or for monitoring response to treatment. However, DNA from normal leukocytes may contribute to the DNA i...

In order to conduct early therapeutic interventions for Alzheimer's disease (AD), convenient, early diagnosis markers are required. We previously reported that changes in DNA methylation levels were associated with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and AD. As the results suggested changes in DNA methylation levels in the COASY and SPINT1 gene promoter regions, in the present study we ex...

Genomic DNA methylation profiles exhibit substantial variation within the human population, with important functional implications for gene regulation. So far little is known about the characteristics and determinants of DNA methylation variation among healthy individuals. We performed bioinformatic analysis of high-resolution methylation profiles from multiple individuals, uncovering complex p...