Developmentally regulated extended domains of DNA hypomethylation encompass highly transcribed genes of the human beta-globin locus.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

DNA methylation has long been implicated in developmental beta-globin gene regulation. However, the mechanism underlying this regulation is unclear, especially because these genes do not contain CpG islands. This has led us to propose and test the hypothesis that, just as for histone modifications, developmentally specific changes in human beta-like globin gene expression are associated with long-range changes in DNA methylation.

Materials and methods

Bisulfite sequencing was used to determine the methylation state of individual CpG dinucleotides across the beta-globin locus in uncultured primary human erythroblasts from fetal liver and bone marrow, and in primitive-like erythroid cells derived from human embryonic stem cells.

Results

beta-globin locus CpGs

SUBMITTER: Lathrop MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3792488 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature