DNA methylation is a chromatin modification that is sometimes associated with epigenetic regulation of gene expression. As DNA methylation can be reversible at some loci, it is possible that methylation patterns may change within an organism that is subjected to environmental stress. In order to assess the effects of abiotic stress on DNA methylation patterns in maize (Zea mays), seeding plants...

Aberrant DNA hypermethylation is a major epigenetic mechanism to inactivate tumor suppressor genes in cancer. Epstein-Barr virus positive gastric cancer is the most frequently hypermethylated tumor among human malignancies. Herein, we performed comprehensive analysis of epigenomic alteration during EBV infection, by Infinium HumanMethylation 450K BeadChip for DNA methylation and ChIP-sequencing...

Maintenance of cytosine methylation in plants is controlled by three DNA methyltransferases. MET1 maintains CG methylation, and DRM1/2 and CMT3 act redundantly to enforce non-CG methylation. RPS, a repetitive hypermethylated DNA fragment from Petunia hybrida, attracts DNA methylation when transferred into Petunia or other species. In Arabidopsis thaliana, which does not contain any RPS homologu...

BACKGROUND Global DNA hypomethylation is an early molecular event in carcinogenesis. Whether methylation measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) DNA is a clinically reliable biomarker for early detection or cancer risk assessment is to be established. METHODS From an original sample-set of 753 male and female adults (ages 64.8 ± 7.3 years), PBMCs DNA methylation was measured in...

BACKGROUND Studies in cell culture and animal models indicate that arsenic exposure induces modifications in DNA methylation, including genome-wide DNA hypomethylation. It is not known whether arsenic exposure influences genomic DNA methylation in human populations chronically exposed to arsenic-contaminated drinking water. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to determine whether arseni...

Recent studies show that formaldehyde participates in DNA demethylation/methylation cycle. Emerging evidence identifies that neuronal activity induces global DNA demethylation and re-methylation; and DNA methylation is a critical step for memory formation. These data suggest that endogenous formaldehyde may intrinsically link learning-responsive DNA methylation status and memory formation. Here...

Epigenetic alterations such as DNA methylation and histone modifications are important in the etiology or pathophysiology of mental disorders. Here, we review recent studies on the relationship between DNA methylation and major mental disorders. We will focus on the role of DNA methylation in postmitotic neurons, intra- and interindividual variations in DNA methylation, the possible involvement...