The establishment and maintenance of DNA methylation patterns in mouse somatic cells

• Published in: Seminars in cancer biology Vol. 9; no. 5; pp. 329 - 337
• Main Author: Turker, Mitchell S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-10-1999
• Subjects: Adenine Phosphoribosyltransferase - genetics; Animals; DNA Methylation; Embryonic and Fetal Development; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Genome; methylation pattern, methylation spreading, de novo methylation, demethylation, methylation blocking; Mice; methylation pattern, methylation spreading, de novo methylation, demethylation, methylation blocking
• ISSN: 1044-579X; 1096-3650
• DOI: 10.1006/scbi.1999.0133

Somatic cell DNA methylation patterns in mammals are established during embryonic development and are then maintained somewhat faithfully for the remainder of the individual's lifetime. Pattern formation can be divided into a series of linked steps that include demethylation, de novo methylation, methylation spreading, methylation blocking, and maintenance methylation. In this review, these steps will be combined to present a model for the formation and maintenance of a methylation pattern in the 5′ region of the mouse Aprt gene. This model suggests that an apparently ‘stable’ methylation pattern results from a dynamic equilibrium between forces that promote and inhibit methylation spreading.