Resistance of human renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and melanoma to the apoptosis-inducing effects of IFNs was postulated to result from epigenetic silencing of genes by DNA methylation, a common feature of human cancers. To reverse silencing, 5-AZA-deoxycytidine (5-AZA-dC) or selective depletion of DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) by phosphorothioate oligonucleotide antisense (DNMT1 AS) were employe...

The preference of murine DNA (cytosine-5)-methyltransferase (Dnmt1) for single stranded DNA substrates is increased up to 50-fold by the presence of a proximal 5-methyl cytosine (5(me)C). This modulation is distance-dependent and is due to an enhanced binding affinity and minor changes in catalytic efficiency. No modulation was observed with double stranded DNA. Modulation requires that the 5(m...

Dnmt1 (DNA methyltansferase 1) is an enzyme that recognizes and methylates hemimethylated DNA during DNA replication to maintain methylation patterns. The N-terminal region of Dnmt1 is known to form an independent domain structure that interacts with various regulatory proteins and DNA. In the present study, we investigated protein kinases in the mouse brain that could bind and phosphorylate th...

Background: Electroporation is a valuable tool for small interfering RNA (siRNA) delivery into cells because it efficiently transforms a wide variety of cell types. Since electroporation condition for each cell type must be determined experimentally, this study presents an optimal electroporation strategy to reproducibly and efficiently transfect MDA-MB 468 human breast cancer cell with siRNA. ...

DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) is an important component of the epigenetic machinery and is responsible for copying DNA methylation patterns during cell division. Coordination of DNA methylation and DNA replication is critical for maintaining epigenetic programming. Knockdown of DNMT1 leads to inhibition of DNA replication, but the mechanism has been unclear. Here we show that depletion of DNM...

5-Methylcytosine residues in the DNA (DNA methylation) are formed from the transfer of the methyl group from S-adenosylmethionine to the C-5 position of cytosine by the DNA-(cytosine-5) methyltransferases (DNMTs). Although regional hypermethylation and global hypomethylation of the genome are commonly observed in neoplastic cells, how these aberrant methylation patterns occur remains unestablis...

BACKGROUND Our previous studies have shown that short-term treatment with phenobarbital (PB) resulted in cytosine methylation of CpG sites on the p53 gene promoter in male Wistar rats' liver. Furthermore, PB induced DNA-methyltransferases (DNMTs) activity was also demonstrated; being the enzymes that catalyze methyl group transfer to cytosine in CpG dinucleotides. OBJECTIVE Since DNA methylat...

DNA methylation is an epigenetic mark critical for regulating transcription, chromatin structure and genome stability. Although many studies have shed light on how methylation impacts transcription and interfaces with the histone code, far less is known about how it regulates genome stability. We and others have shown that DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1), the maintenance methyltransferase, cont...