A minimal set of tissue-specific hypomethylated CpGs constitute epigenetic signatures of developmental programming.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cell specific states of the chromatin are programmed during mammalian development. Dynamic DNA methylation across the developing embryo guides a program of repression, switching off genes in most cell types. Thus, the majority of the tissue specific differentially methylated sites (TS-DMS) must be un-methylated CpGs.

Methodology and principal findings

Comparison of expanded Methyl Sensitive Cut Counting data (eMSCC) among four tissues (liver, testes, brain and kidney) from three C57BL/6J mice, identified 138,052 differentially methylated sites of which 23,270 contain CpGs un-methylated in only one tissue (TS-DMS). Most of these CpGs were located in intergenic regions, outside of promoters, CpG islands or their shores, and up to 20% of them overlapped reported acti

SUBMITTER: Colaneri A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3771925 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature