• BMB Reports
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• 제47권11호
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• pp.609-618
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• 2014

DNA methylation at cytosines (5mC) is a major epigenetic modification involved in the regulation of multiple biological processes in mammals. How methylation is reversed was until recently poorly understood. The family of dioxygenases commonly known as Ten-eleven translocation (Tet) proteins are responsible for the oxidation of 5mC into three new forms, 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), 5-formylcytosine (5fC) and 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC). Current models link Tet-mediated 5mC oxidation with active DNA demethylation. The higher oxidation products (5fC and 5caC) are recognized and excised by the DNA glycosylase TDG via the base excision repair pathway. Like DNA methyltransferases, Tet enzymes are important for embryonic development. We will examine the mechanism and biological significance of Tet-mediated 5mC oxidation in the context of pronuclear DNA demethylation in mouse early embryos. In contrast to its role in active demethylation in the germ cells and early embryo, a number of lines of evidence suggest that the intragenic 5hmC present in brain may act as a stable mark instead. This short review explores mechanistic aspects of TET oxidation activity, the impact Tet enzymes have on epigenome organization and their contribution to the regulation of early embryonic and neuronal development.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제39권12호
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• pp.888-897
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• 2016

Stable expression of Foxp3 is ensured by demethylation of CpG motifs in the Foxp3 intronic element, the conserved non-coding sequence 2 (CNS2), which persists throughout the lifespan of regulatory T cells (Tregs). However, little is known about the mechanisms on how CNS2 demethylation is sustained. In this study, we found that Ten-Eleven-Translocation (Tet) DNA dioxygenase protects the CpG motifs of CNS2 from re-methylation by DNA methyltransferases (Dnmts) and prevents Tregs from losing Foxp3 expression under inflammatory conditions. Upon stimulation of Tregs by interleukin-6 (IL6), Dnmt1 was recruited to CNS2 and induced methylation, which was inhibited by Tet2 recruited by IL2. Tet2 prevented CNS2 re-methylation by not only the occupancy of the CNS2 locus but also by its enzymatic activity. These results show that the CNS2 methylation status is dynamically regulated by a balance between Tets and Dnmts which influences the expression of Foxp3 in Tregs.

• 한국가축번식학회지
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• 제27권4호
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• pp.309-315
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• 2003

DNA methylation at CpG sites, which is a epigenetic modification, is associated with gene expression without change of DNA sequences. During early mouse embryogenesis, dynamic changes of DNA methylation occur. In this study, DNA methylation patterns of porcine embryos produced in vivo and in vitro were examined at various developmental stages by the immunocytochemical staining method. Interestingly, active demethylation was not observed on the paternal pronucleus of porcine zygotes. However, differences were detected in the passive demethylation process between in vivo and in vitro embryos. There was no change in the DNA methylation state until the blastocyst stage of in vivo embryos, whereas partial demethylation was observed in several blastomeres from a 4 cell stage to a morula stage of in vitro embryos. The whole genome of inner cell mass (ICM) and trophectoderm (TE) cells in porcine blastocysts were evenly methylated without de novo methylation. Our findings demonstrate that genome-wide demethylation does not occur in pig embryos during preimplantation development unlike murine and bovine embryos. It indicates that the machinery regulating epigenetic reprogramming may be different between species.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• 제43권2호
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• pp.231-239
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• 2016

담배에서 후성유전관련 유전자의 발현연구를 위해 담배유래 시토신 DNA 탈메틸화 관련 NtROS2a 유전자를 과발현 및 RNAi 식물체를 육성하였다. 이들 형질전환체들은 고염 및 산화 스트레스하에서 내성이 증진되었으며, 다양한 표현형변이를 보였다(Lee et al. 2015). 본연구에서는 선발된 과발현 (OX1), RNAi 식물체(RNAi 13) 및 대조식물체(WT)를 이용하여 Agilent Tobacco 4 X 44K Oligo chip으로 microarray분석을 수행하였다. OX1과 RNAi13 계통을 이용하여 WT과 함께 비교 분석한 결과, 대부분 세포 내 이온 수송, 영양 공급 등과 같은 물질대사와 생물적 비생물적 스트레스 및 methylation과 관련되어 영향을 주는 유전자들에서 up-regulation 되었고, 물질대사관련 유전자와 세포 내 기능유전자의 역할을 담당하는 조효소, 그리고 다양한 스트레스 및 메틸레이션 관련 유전자군에서 또한 down-regulation되었다. 각각의 up-, down-regulation된 유전자들을 WT과 비교하여 qRT-PCR을 수행한 결과, KH domain-containing protein, MADS-box protein 및 Zinc phosphodiesterase ELAC protein 유전자들에서 발현이 높게 나타났으며, 반면에 pentatricopeptide (PPR) repeat-containing protein, histone deacetylase HDAC3 protein 및 protein kinase는 0.4 ~ 1.0-fold 발현양이 감소되었다. 따라서 DNA glycosylase를 암호화하는 NtROS2a 유전자는 demethylation과 관련되어 담배 식물체에서 다양한 전사레벨을 조절하는 것으로 판단된다.

• BMB Reports
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• 제43권6호
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• pp.400-406
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• 2010

Cancer/testis (CT) antigens exhibit highly tissue-restricted expression and are considered promising targets for cancer vaccines. Here we identified a novel CT gene ZNF645 which restrictively expresses in normal human testes and lung cancer patients (68.3%). To investigate the promoter methylation status of ZNF645, we carried out bisulfite genomic sequencing and found that the CpG island in its promoter was heavily methylated in normal lung tissues without the expression of ZNF645, whereas there was high demethylation in normal human testes and lung carcinoma tissues with its expression. Also ZNF645 could be remarkably activated in A549 and HEK293T cells treated by DNA demethylation agent 5'-aza-2'-deoxycytidine. And the dual luciferase assay revealed that the promoter activity of the ZNF645 was inhibited by methylation of the CpG island region. Therefore, we proposed that ZNF645 is a CT gene and activated in human testis and lung cancers by demethylation of its promoter region.

• 한국발생생물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국발생생물학회 2003년도 제3회 국제심포지움 및 학술대회
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• pp.26-28
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• 2003

"Epigenetics" means the study of heritable changes in gene-activity without changes in DNA sequences. Methylation of the cytosine residue in a CpG dinucleotide sequence is a characteristic of the vertebrate genome. In vertebrates, methylation of DNA mainly occurs at the 5′-position of cytosine in a CpG dinucleotide forming 5-methylcytosine. Methylation of DNA plays a profound role in transcriptional repression of gene expression through several mechanisms. Generally, DNA of inactive genes is more heavily methylated than that of active ones; conversely demethylation of DNA reactivates gene expression in vivo and in vitro.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제24권6호
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• pp.463-472
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• 2020

Direct reprogramming, also known as a trans-differentiation, is a technique to allow mature cells to be converted into other types of cells without inducing a pluripotent stage. It has been suggested as a major strategy to acquire the desired type of cells in cell-based therapies to repair damaged tissues. Studies related to switching the fate of cells through epigenetic modification have been progressing and they can bypass safety issues raised by the virus-based transfection methods. In this study, a protocol was established to directly convert fully differentiated fibroblasts into diverse mesenchymal-lineage cells, such as osteoblasts, adipocytes, chondrocytes, and ectodermal cells, including neurons, by means of DNA demethylation, immediately followed by culturing in various differentiating media. First, 24 h exposure of 5-azacytidine (5-aza-CN), a well-characterized DNA methyl transferase inhibitor, to NIH-3T3 murine fibroblast cells induced the expression of stem-cell markers, that is, increasing cell plasticity. Next, 5-aza-CN treated fibroblasts were cultured in osteogenic, adipogenic, chondrogenic, and neurogenic media with or without bone morphogenetic protein 2 for a designated period. Differentiation of each desired type of cell was verified by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction/western blot assays for appropriate marker expression and by various staining methods, such as alkaline phosphatase/alizarin red S/oil red O/alcian blue. These proposed procedures allowed easier acquisition of the desired cells without any transgenic modification, using direct reprogramming technology, and thus may help make it more available in the clinical fields of regenerative medicine.

• 한국동물번식학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국동물번식학회 2001년도 발생공학 국제심포지움 및 학술대회 발표자료집
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• pp.25-31
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• 2001

During early development, a dramatic reduction in methylation levels occurs in mouse (Monk et al., 1987). The process of epigenetic reprogramming in early embryos erases gamete-specific methylation patterns inherited from the parents (Howlett ＆ Reik 1991, Monk et al., 1987, Oswald et al., 2000, Sanford et al., 1984). This genome-wide demethylation process may be a prerequisite for the formation of pluripotent stem cells that are important for the later development (Reik ＆ Surani 1997). During post-implantation development, a wave of de novo methylation takes place; most of the genomic DNA is methylated at defined developmental timepoints, whereas tissue-specific genes undergo demethylation in their tissues of expression (Kafri et al., 1992, Razin ＆ Kafri 1994). Another demethylation-remethylation cycle of epigenetic reprogramming takes place during gametogenesis and is necessary for resetting of genomic imprinting (Solter 1988). The dynamic epigenetic reprogramming events appear to be basic and are probably conserved in eutherian mammals (see below). (omitted)

• 한국동물번식학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국동물번식학회 2001년도 춘계학술발표대회
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• pp.15-15
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• 2001

We recently demonstrated that satellite regions exhibit an aberrant DNA methylation in cloned bovine embryos. Here, we examined, using bisulfite -sequencing technology, whether the inefficient demethylation of cloned donor genomes could be rescued by the presence of oocytic nuclei. Both AciI digestion and sequencing analyses showed that satellite sequence was demethylated more efficiently in cloned tetraploid blastocysts than in diploid clones. When methyl -CpG density (the number of methyl-CpG sites per string) was scored, a significant decrease was observed In tetraploids (P<0.001). These results suggest that unknown mechanisms provided by oocytic nuclei could assist the demethylation of satellite sequences in tetraploid clones.

• Animal Bioscience
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• 제37권3호
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• pp.471-480
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• 2024

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the regulation relationship of Ten-eleven translocation 1 (Tet1) in DNA demethylation and the proliferation of primordial germ cells (PGCs) in chickens. Methods: siRNA targeting Tet1 was used to transiently knockdown the expression of Tet1 in chicken PGCs, and the genomic DNA methylation status was measured. The proliferation of chicken PGCs was detected by flow cytometry analysis and cell counting kit-8 assay when activation or inhibition of Wnt4/β-catenin signaling pathway. And the level of DNA methylation and hisotne methylation was also tested. Results: Results revealed that knockdown of Tet1 inhibited the proliferation of chicken PGCs and downregulated the mRNA expression of Cyclin D1 and cyclin-dependent kinase 6 (CDK6), as well as pluripotency-associated genes (Nanog, PouV, and Sox2). Flow cytometry analysis confirmed that the population of PGCs in Tet1 knockdown group displayed a significant decrease in the proportion of S and G2 phase cells, which meant that there were less PGCs entered the mitosis process than that of control. Furthermore, Tet1 knockdown delayed the entrance to G1/S phase and this inhibition was rescued by treated with BIO. Consistent with these findings, Wnt/β-catenin signaling was inactivated in Tet1 knockdown PGCs, leading to aberrant proliferation. Further analysis showed that the methylation of the whole genome increased significantly after Tet1 downregulation, while hydroxyl-methylation obviously declined. Meanwhile, the level of H3K27me3 was upregulated and H3K9me2 was downregulated in Tet1 knockdown PGCs, which was achieved by regulating Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Conclusion: These results suggested that the self-renewal of chicken PGCs and the maintenance of their characteristics were regulated by Tet1 mediating DNA demethylation through the activation of Wnt4/β-catenin signaling pathway.