Differential mRNA expression of the human DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) 1, 3a and 3b during the G(0)/G(1) to S phase transition in normal and tumor cells.

ABSTRACT: DNA methylation is essential for mammalian development, X-chromosome inactivation, and imprinting yet aberrant methylation patterns are one of the most common features of transformed cells. One of the proposed causes for these defects in the methylation machinery is overexpression of one or more of the three known catalytically active DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) 1, 3a and 3b, yet there are clearly examples in which overexpression is minimal or non-existent but global methylation anomalies persist. An alternative mechanism which could give rise to global methylation errors is the improper expression of one or more of the DNMTs during the cell cycle. To begin to study the latter possibility we examined the expression of the mRNAs for DNMT1, 3a and 3b during the cell cycle of normal and tr

SUBMITTER: Robertson KD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC105379 | biostudies-literature | 2000 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature