Version 1
: Received: 26 May 2023 / Approved: 30 May 2023 / Online: 30 May 2023 (05:20:01 CEST)
Version 2
: Received: 31 May 2023 / Approved: 2 June 2023 / Online: 2 June 2023 (04:15:42 CEST)
Improda, T.; Morgera, V.; Vitale, M.; Chiariotti, L.; Passaro, F.; Feola, A.; Porcellini, A.; Cuomo, M.; Pezone, A. Specific Methyl-CpG Configurations Define Cell Identity through Gene Expression Regulation. Int. J. Mol. Sci.2023, 24, 9951.
Improda, T.; Morgera, V.; Vitale, M.; Chiariotti, L.; Passaro, F.; Feola, A.; Porcellini, A.; Cuomo, M.; Pezone, A. Specific Methyl-CpG Configurations Define Cell Identity through Gene Expression Regulation. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24, 9951.
Improda, T.; Morgera, V.; Vitale, M.; Chiariotti, L.; Passaro, F.; Feola, A.; Porcellini, A.; Cuomo, M.; Pezone, A. Specific Methyl-CpG Configurations Define Cell Identity through Gene Expression Regulation. Int. J. Mol. Sci.2023, 24, 9951.
Improda, T.; Morgera, V.; Vitale, M.; Chiariotti, L.; Passaro, F.; Feola, A.; Porcellini, A.; Cuomo, M.; Pezone, A. Specific Methyl-CpG Configurations Define Cell Identity through Gene Expression Regulation. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24, 9951.
Abstract
Cell identity is determined by chromatin structure and the profiles of gene expression, which are dependent on chromatin accessibility and DNA methylation of regions critical for gene expression, such as enhancers and promoters. These epigenetic modifications are required for mammalian development and are essential for the establishment and the maintenance of the cellular identity. DNA methylation was once thought to be a permanent repressive epigenetic mark, but systematic analysis in various genomic contexts reveals a more dynamic regulation than previously thought. In fact, both active DNA methylation and demethylation occur during cell fate commitment and terminal differentiation. To link methylation signatures of specific genes to their expression profiles, we have determined the methyl-CpG configurations of the promoters of five genes switched on and off during murine postnatal brain differentiation by bisulfite-targeted sequencing. We report here the structure of significant, dynamic and stable methyl-CpG profiles associated with silencing or activation of expression of genes during neural stem cell and brain postnatal differentiation. Strikingly, these methylation cores mark different mouse brain areas and cell types derived from the same areas during differentiation.
Keywords
methyl-CpG; DNA methylation; gene expression; cell identity
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Commenter: Antonio Pezone
Commenter's Conflict of Interests: Author