Dnmt3b recruitment through E2F6 transcriptional repressor mediates germ-line gene silencing in murine somatic tissues.

ABSTRACT: Methylation of cytosine residues within the CpG dinucleotide in mammalian cells is an important mediator of gene expression, genome stability, X-chromosome inactivation, genomic imprinting, chromatin structure, and embryonic development. The majority of CpG sites in mammalian cells is methylated in a nonrandom fashion, raising the question of how DNA methylation is distributed along the genome. Here, we focused on the functions of DNA methyltransferase-3b (Dnmt3b), of which deregulated activity is linked to several human pathologies. We generated Dnmt3b hypomorphic mutant mice with reduced catalytic activity, which first revealed a deregulation of Hox genes expression, consistent with the observed homeotic transformations of the posterior axis. In addition, analysis of deregulated expressi

SUBMITTER: Velasco G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2889045 | biostudies-literature | 2010 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature