DNA methylation dynamics during in vivo differentiation of blood and skin stem cells.

ABSTRACT: 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 the blood and skin lineages. DNA methylation changes were locus specific and relatively modest in magnitude. They frequently overlapped with lineage-associated transcription factors and their binding sites, suggesting that DNA methylation may protect cells from aberrant transcription factor activation. DNA methylation and gene expression provided complementary information, and combining the two enable

SUBMITTER: Bock C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3428428 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature