Association of DNA methylation/demethylation with the functional outcome of stroke in a hyperinflammatory state

Inflammation is closely related to stroke prognosis, and high inflammation status leads to poor functional outcome in stroke. DNA methylation is involved in the pathogenesis and prognosis of stroke. However, the effect of DNA methylation on stroke at high levels of inflammation is unclear. In this study, we constructed a hyperinflammatory cerebral ischemia mouse model and investigated the effect of hypomethylation and hypermethylation on the functional outcome. We constructed a mouse model of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion and treated the mice with lipopolysaccharide to induce a hyperinflammatory state. To investigate the effect of DNA methylation on stroke, we used small molecule inhibitors to restrain the function of key DNA methylation and demethylation enzymes. 2,3,5-Triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining, neurological function scores, neurobehavioral tests, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, quantitative reverse transcription PCR and western blot assay were used to evaluate the effects after stroke in mice. We assessed changes in the global methylation status by measuring DNA 5-mc and DNA 5-hmc levels in peripheral blood after the use of the inhibitor. In the group treated with the DNA methylation inhibitor, brain tissue 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining showed an increase in infarct volume, which was accompanied by a decrease in neurological scores and worsening of neurobehavioral performance. The levels of inflammatory factors interleukin 6 and interleukin-1 beta in ischemic brain tissue and plasma were elevated, indicating increased inflammation. Related inflammatory pathway exploration showed significant overactivation of nuclear factor kappa B. These results suggested that inhibiting DNA methylation led to poor functional outcome in mice with high inflammation following stroke. Further, the effects were reversed by inhibition of DNA demethylation. Our findings suggest that DNA methylation regulates the inflammatory response in stroke and has an important role in the functional outcome of hyperinflammatory stroke.

Unveiling DNA methylation in Alzheimer’s disease:a review of array-based human brain studies

The intricacies of Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis are being increasingly illuminated by the exploration of epigenetic mechanisms,particularly DNA methylation.This review comprehensively surveys recent human-centered studies that investigate whole genome DNA methylation in Alzheimer’s disease neuropathology.The examination of various brain regions reveals distinctive DNA methylation patterns that associate with the Braak stage and Alzheimer’s disease progression.The entorhinal cortex emerges as a focal point due to its early histological alterations and subsequent impact on downstream regions like the hippocampus.Notably,ANK1 hypermethylation,a protein implicated in neurofibrillary tangle formation,was recurrently identified in the entorhinal cortex.Further,the middle temporal gyrus and prefrontal cortex were shown to exhibit significant hypermethylation of genes like HOXA3,RHBDF2,and MCF2L,potentially influencing neuroinflammatory processes.The complex role of BIN1 in late-onset Alzheimer’s disease is underscored by its association with altered methylation patterns.Despite the disparities across studies,these findings highlight the intricate interplay between epigenetic modifications and Alzheimer’s disease pathology.Future research efforts should address methodological variations,incorporate diverse cohorts,and consider environmental factors to unravel the nuanced epigenetic landscape underlying Alzheimer’s disease progression.

Advances in microfluidic-based DNA methylation analysis

DNA methylation has been extensively investigated in recent years,not least because of its known relationship with various diseases.Progress in analytical methods can greatly increase the relevance of DNA methylation studies to both clinical medicine and scientific research.Microflu-idic chips are excellent carriers for molecular analysis,and their use can provide improvements from multiple aspects.On-chip molecular analysis has received extensive attention owing to its advantages of portability,high throughput,low cost,and high efficiency.In recent years,the use of novel microfluidic chips for DNA methylation analysis has been widely reported and has shown obvious superiority to conventional methods.In this review,wefirst focus on DNA methylation and its applications.Then,we discuss advanced microfluidic-based methods for DNA methylation analysis and describe the great progress that has been made in recent years.Finally,we summarize the advantages that microfluidic technology brings to DNA methylation analysis and describe several challenges and perspectives for on-chip DNA methylation analysis.This review should help researchers improve their understanding and make progress in developing microfluidic-based methods for DNA methylation analysis.

Advances in DNA methylation and its role in cytoplasmic male sterility in higher plants

The impact of epigenetic modifications like DNA methylation on plant phenotypes has expanded the possibilities for crop development.DNA methylation plays a part in the regulation of both the chromatin structure and gene expression,and the enzyme involved,DNA methyltransferase,executes the methylation process within the plant genome.By regulating crucial biological pathways,epigenetic changes actively contribute to the creation of the phenotype.Therefore,epigenome editing may assist in overcoming some of the drawbacks of genome editing,which can have minor off-target consequences and merely facilitate the loss of a gene’s function.These drawbacks include gene knockout,which can have such off-target effects.This review provides examples of several molecular characteristics of DNA methylation,as well as some plant physiological processes that are impacted by these epigenetic changes in the plants.We also discuss how DNA alterations might be used to improve crops and meet the demands of sustainable and environmentally-friendly farming.

DNA Methylation of KLRC1 and KLRC3 in Autoimmune Thyroiditis:Perspective of Different Water Iodine Exposure

Objective This study aimed to identify differentially methylated genes(DMGs) associated with natural killer cells in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis(AIT), focusing on the influence of varying water iodine exposure levels.Methods Participants were divided into categories based on median water iodine(MWI)concentrations: iodine-fortified areas(IFA, MWI < 10 μg/L), iodine-adequate areas(IAA, 40 ≤ MWI ≤ 100μg/L), and iodine-excessive areas(IEA, MWI > 300 μg/L). A total of 176 matched AIT cases and controls were recruited and divided into 89, 40, and 47 pairs for IFA, IAA, and IEA, respectively. DMGs were identified using 850K Bead Chip analysis for 10/10 paired samples. Validation of DNA methylation and m RNA expression levels of the DMGs was conducted using Methyl Target^(TM) and QRT-PCR for 176/176paired samples.Results KLRC1, KLRC3, and SH2D1B were identified as significant DMGs. Validation revealed that KLRC1 was hypomethylated and highly expressed, whereas KLRC3 was hypermethylated and highly expressed in individuals with AIT. Furthermore, KLRC1 was hypomethylated and highly expressed in both IFA and IEA.Conclusion The DNA methylation status of KLRC1 and KLRC3 may play crucial roles in AIT pathogenesis. Additionally, DNA methylation of KLRC1 seems to be influenced by different iodine concentrations in water.

Rice melatonin deficiency causes premature leaf senescence via DNA methylation regulation

In a study of DNA methylation changes in melatonin-deficient rice mutants,mutant plants showed premature leaf senescence during grain-filling and reduced grain yield.Melatonin deficiency led to transcriptional reprogramming,especially of genes involved in chlorophyll and carbon metabolism,redox regulation,and transcriptional regulation,during dark-induced leaf senescence.Hypomethylation of mCG and mCHG in the melatonin-deficient rice mutants was associated with the expression change of both protein-coding genes and transposable element-related genes.Changes in gene expression and DNA methylation in the melatonin-deficient mutants were compensated by exogenous application of melatonin.A decreased S-adenosyl-L-methionine level may have contributed to the DNA methylation variations in rice mutants of melatonin deficiency under dark conditions.

DNA methylation in poultry:a review

As an important epigenetic modification,DNA methylation is involved in many biological processes such as animal cell differentiation,embryonic development,genomic imprinting and sex chromosome inactivation.As DNA methylation sequencing becomes more sophisticated,it becomes possible to use it to solve more zoological problems.This paper reviews the characteristics of DNA methylation,with emphasis on the research and application of DNA methylation in poultry.

Comparative DNA methylation reveals epigenetic adaptation to high altitude in snub-nosed monkeys

DNA methylation plays a crucial role in environmental adaptations.Here,using whole-genome bisulfite sequencing,we generated comprehensive genome-wide DNA methylation profiles for the high-altitude Yunnan snub-nosed monkey(Rhinopithecus bieti)and the closely related golden snub-nosed monkey(R.roxellana).Our findings indicated a slight increase in overall DNA methylation levels in golden snub-nosed monkeys compared to Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys,suggesting a higher prevalence of hypermethylated genomic regions in the former.Comparative genomic methylation analysis demonstrated that genes associated with differentially methylated regions were involved in membrane fusion,vesicular formation and trafficking,hemoglobin function,cell cycle regulation,and neuronal differentiation.These results suggest that the high-altitude-related epigenetic modifications are extensive,involving a complete adaptation process from the inhibition of single Ca^(2+)channel proteins to multiple proteins collaboratively enhancing vesicular function or inhibiting cell differentiation and proliferation.Functional assays demonstrated that overexpression or down-regulation of candidate genes,such as SNX10,TIMELESS,and CACYBP,influenced cell viability under stress conditions.Overall,this research suggests that comparing DNA methylation across closely related species can identify novel candidate genomic regions and genes associated with local adaptations,thereby deepening our understanding of the mechanisms underlying environmental adaptations.

Methylome and transcriptome data integration reveals potential roles of DNA methylation and candidate biomarkers of cow Streptococcus uberis subclinical mastitis

Background:Mastitis caused by different pathogens including Streptococcus uberis(S.uberis)is responsible for huge economic losses to the dairy industry.In order to investigate the potential genetic and epigenetic regulatory mecha‑nisms of subclinical mastitis due to S.uberis,the DNA methylome(whole genome DNA methylation sequencing)and transcriptome(RNA sequencing)of milk somatic cells from cows with naturally occurring S.uberis subclinical mastitis and healthy control cows(n=3/group)were studied.Results:Globally,the DNA methylation levels of CpG sites were low in the promoters and first exons but high in inner exons and introns.The DNA methylation levels at the promoter,first exon and first intron regions were nega‑tively correlated with the expression level of genes at a whole‑genome‑wide scale.In general,DNA methylation level was lower in S.uberis‑positive group(SUG)than in the control group(CTG).A total of 174,342 differentially methylated cytosines(DMCs)(FDR<0.05)were identified between SUG and CTG,including 132,237,7412 and 34,693 DMCs in the context of CpG,CHG and CHH(H=A or T or C),respectively.Besides,101,612 methylation haplotype blocks(MHBs)were identified,including 451 MHBs that were significantly different(dMHB)between the two groups.A total of 2130 differentially expressed(DE)genes(1378 with up‑regulated and 752 with down‑regulated expression)were found in SUG.Integration of methylome and transcriptome data with MethGET program revealed 1623 genes with signifi‑cant changes in their methylation levels and/or gene expression changes(MetGDE genes,MethGET P‑value<0.001).Functional enrichment of genes harboring≥15 DMCs,DE genes and MetGDE genes suggest significant involvement of DNA methylation changes in the regulation of the host immune response to S.uberis infection,especially cytokine activities.Furthermore,discriminant correlation analysis with DIABLO method identified 26 candidate biomarkers,including 6 DE genes,15 CpG‑DMCs and 5 dMHBs that discriminated between SUG and CTG.Conclusion:The integration of methylome and transcriptome of milk somatic cells suggests the possible involve‑ment of DNA methylation changes in the regulation of the host immune response to subclinical mastitis due to S.uberis.The presented genetic and epigenetic biomarkers could contribute to the design of management strategies of subclinical mastitis and breeding for mastitis resistance.

DNA methylation as a mediator of epigenetic regulation in the pathogenesis and precision medicine of osteoarthritis:An updated review

The pathophysiology of osteoarthritis(OA)is multifactorial,with the primary risk factors being obesity,age,environmental variables,and genetic predisposition.The available evidence suggests that genetic diversity does not adequately account for all clinical characteristics and heterogeneity of OA.Genetics has emerged as a nascent and crucial area of research in OA.The epigenetic module presents a potential link between genetic and environmental risk factors and the susceptibility and pathogenesis of OA.As a critical epigenetic alteration,DNA methylation has been shown to have an important role in the etiology of OA and is a viable biomarker for predicting disease progression and medication response,as shown in this research.This review aims to update knowledge in the field of DNA methylation associated with OA to better identify the essential features of OA subtypes and pathological conditions,hence accelerating individualized treatment and precision medicine.

A Metaheuristic Technique for Cluster-Based Feature Selection of DNA Methylation Data for Cancer

Epigenetics is the study of phenotypic variations that do not alter DNA sequences.Cancer epigenetics has grown rapidly over the past few years as epigenetic alterations exist in all human cancers.One of these alterations is DNA methylation;an epigenetic process that regulates gene expression and often occurs at tumor suppressor gene loci in cancer.Therefore,studying this methylation process may shed light on different gene functions that cannot otherwise be interpreted using the changes that occur in DNA sequences.Currently,microarray technologies;such as Illumina Infinium BeadChip assays;are used to study DNA methylation at an extremely large number of varying loci.At each DNA methylation site,a beta value(β)is used to reflect the methylation intensity.Therefore,clustering this data from various types of cancers may lead to the discovery of large partitions that can help objectively classify different types of cancers aswell as identify the relevant loci without user bias.This study proposed a Nested Big Data Clustering Genetic Algorithm(NBDC-GA);a novel evolutionary metaheuristic technique that can perform cluster-based feature selection based on the DNA methylation sites.The efficacy of the NBDC-GA was tested using real-world data sets retrieved from The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA);a cancer genomics program created by the NationalCancer Institute(NCI)and the NationalHuman Genome Research Institute.The performance of the NBDC-GA was then compared with that of a recently developed metaheuristic Immuno-Genetic Algorithm(IGA)that was tested using the same data sets.The NBDC-GA outperformed the IGA in terms of convergence performance.Furthermore,the NBDC-GA produced a more robust clustering configuration while simultaneously decreasing the dimensionality of features to a maximumof 67%and of 94.5%for individual cancer type and collective cancer,respectively.The proposed NBDC-GA was also able to identify two chromosomes with highly contrastingDNAmethylations activities that were previously linked to cancer.

Stress Treatments and DNA Methylation Affected the Somatic Embryogenesis of Citrus Callus

The evaluation on the callus embryogenesis capacity of 15 genotypes of citrus showed that stress treatments were conducive to somatic embryogenesis and could enhance the recovery of the missed capacity of embryogenesis for some genotypes. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and methylation sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP) analysis indicated that there existed significant differences in DNA methylation status between the callus capable of producing somatic embryoids and that which missed the embryogenesis capacity of the same genotype Newhall navel orange ( Citrus sinensis Osb. cv. Newhall). The DNA methylation level of the former was lower than that of the latter. However, RAPD profiles did not show any difference between these two kinds of callus.

Eucaryotic DNA Methylation and Gene Mutation

5-methylcytosine (m5C) as a rare base exists in eucaryotic genomes, it is a normal constituent of many eucaryotic DNA, whose existence is a character of eucaryotic DNA. In the regular physiological conditions, cytosine residue of eucaryotic DNA is methylated to be popular. Up to the present, many people consider that the m5C may be mutation hotspots by the m5C deamination leading to gene mutation. Our theoretical investigations indicated that the spontaneous mutation caused by the transition of G - C-A - T, in eukaryotic DNA, may be a result caused by the tautomer changing base pairs and may also be caused by other factor actions, however it could not be caused by the deamination of m5C.

Characterization of MyDNMT1 and Changes of Global DNA Methylation during the Embryonic Development in Mizuhopecten yessoensis

DNA methylation is a critical epigenetic mechanism that influences gene transcription, genomic stability, X-chromosome inactivation and other factors, and appropriate DNA methylation is crucial in development. DNA methyltransferase 1 （DNMT1） plays an important role in maintaining the established methylation pattern during DNA replication. Although the effect of DNA methylation on embryonic development has been well known in vertebrates, little research has been carried out in invertebrates, especially in marine bivalves. In this study, the DNMT1 gene （MyDNMT1） was firstly identified from Mizuhopecten yessoensis. The full-length cDNA of MyDNMT1 was 5 039 bp, consisted of a 5＇ untranslated region （5＇-UTR） of 79 bp, a 3＇ untranslated region （3＇-UTR） of 199 bp, and a 4 761 bp open reading frame （ORF） encoding a peptide of 1 586 amino acids without a putative signal peptide. The relative mRNA expression level of MyDNMT1 was measured during the embryonic development of M. ydssoensis using real-time PCR, which revealed that the level at stage zygote and trochophore were significantly higher than that at other stages. We further examined the global DNA methylation during development by colorimetric method. The results showed that the methylation level was increased and reached the peak at blastula stage, then dramatically decreased, and fluctuated at early D-shaped larva stage. This study provided greater insight into the DNA methylation of embryonic development, which obtained a better understanding of the relationship between the DNA methylation and the embryonic development in bivalve mollusks.

DNA Methylation Analysis of Exogenous Genes Transformed into Sheep by Different Methods

[Objective] This study aimed to investigate the methylation levels of exogenous genes and promoters and the differences of protein expression in transgenic sheep obtained by different transgenic technologies. [Method] Exogenous genes eGFP （enhanced green fluorescent protein） and FGF5 （fibroblast growth factor 5） were separately transformed into sheep by somatic cell cloning, stem cell cloning and perivitelline injection to obtain transgenic sheep, with CMV as the promoter. Bisulfite sequencing method was adopted to detect the methylation status of the promoter region and coding region of exogenous genes in tail tissues of transgenic sheep. Western blot was adopted to detect the expression level of exogenous genes. [Result] The methylation level of the promoter region with stem cell cloning was the highest, followed by somatic cell cloning, while that with perivitelline injection was the lowest; the methylation level of the eGFP coding region with perivitelline injection was the highest, followed by stem cell cloning; the methylation level of the FGF5 coding region with somatic cell cloning was higher than that with perivitelline injection. The exogenous protein expression level was negatively correlated with the methylation level of the promoter region. [Conclusion] This study indicates that different transgenic methods may influence the methylation level of exogenous genes, thus affecting exogenous gene expression.

Analysis of DNA methylation in different maize tissues

DNA methylation plays an important role in gene expression regulation during biological development and tissue differentiation in plants. This study adopted methylation-sensitive Amplified fragment length polymorphism （AFLP） to compare the levels of DNA cytosine methylation at CCGG sites in tassel, bracteal leaf, and ear leaf from maize inbred lines, 18 White and 18 Red, respectively, and also examined specific methylation patterns of the three tissues. Significant differences in cytosine methylation level among the three tissues and the same changing tendency in two inbred lines were detected. Both MSAP （methylation sensitive amplification polymorphism） ratio and full methylation level were the highest in bracteal leaf, and the lowest in tassel. Meanwhile, different methylation levels were observed in the same tissue from the inbred lines, 18 White and 18 Red. Full methylation of internal cytosine was the dominant type in the maize genome. The differential methylation patterns in the three tissues were observed. In addition, sequencing of nine differentially methylated fragments and the subsequent blast search revealed that the cytosine methylated 5 ＇ -CCGG-3 ＇ sequences were distributed in repeating sequences, in the coding and noncoding regions. Southern hybridization was used to verify the methylation polymorphism. These results clearly demonstrated the power of the MSAP technique for large-scale DNA methylation detection in the maize genome, and the complexity of DNA methylation change during plant growth and development. The different methylation levels may be related to specific gene expression in various tissues.

Effects of histone acetylation and DNA methylation on p21^(WAF1)regulation

Cell cycle progression is regulated by interactions between cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs). p21(WAF1) is one of the CIP/KIP family which inhibits CDKs activity. Increased expression of p21(WAF1) may play an important role in the growth arrest induced in transformed cells. Although the stability of the p21( WAF1) mRNA could be altered by different signals, cell differentiation and numerous influencing factors. However, recent studies suggest that two known mechanisms of epigenesis, i.e.gene inactivation by methylation in promoter region and changes to an inactive chromatin by histone deacetylation, seem to be the best candidate mechanisms for inactivation of p21( WAF1). To date, almost no coding region p21(WAF1) mutations have been found in tumor cells, despite extensive screening of hundreds of various tumors. Hypermethylation of the p21(WAF1) promoter region may represent an alternative mechanism by which the p21(WAF1/CIP1) gene can be inactivated. The reduction of cellular DNMT protein levels also induces a corresponding rapid increase in the cell cycle regulator p21(WAF1) protein demonstrating a regulatory link between DNMT and p21(WAF1) which is independent of methylation of DNA. Both histone hyperacetylation and hypoacetylation appear to be important in the carcinoma process, and induction of the p21(WAF1) gene by histone hyperacetylation may be a mechanism by which dietary fiber prevents carcinogenesis. Here, we review the influence of histone acetylation and DNA methylation on p21(WAF1) transcription, and affection of pathways or factors associated such as p 53, E2A, Sp1 as well as several histone deacetylation inhibitors.

DNA methylation in hepatocellular carcinoma

As for many other tumors,development of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)must be understood as a multistep process with accumulation of genetic and epigenetic alterations in regulatory genes,leading to activation of oncogenes and inactivation or loss of tumor suppressor genes(TSG).In the last decades,in addition to genetic alterations,epigenetic inactivation of(tumor suppressor) genes by promoter hypermet hylation has been recognized as an important and alternative mechanism in tumorigenesis.In HCC,aberrant methylation of promoter sequences occurs not only in advanced tumors, it has been also observed in premalignant conditions just as chronic viral hepatitis B or C and cirrhotic liver. This review discusses the epigenetic alterations in hepatocellular carcinoma focusing DNA methylation.

The altered DNA methylation pattern and its implications in liver cancer

DNA methylation is the most intensively studied epigenetic phenomenon, disturbances of which result in changes ingene transcription, thus exerting drastic imparts onto biological behaviors of cancer. Both the global demethylation andthe local hypermethylation have been widely reported in all types of tumors, providing both challenges and opportunitiesfor a better understanding and eventually controlling of the malignance. However, we are still in the very early stage ofinformation accumulation concerning the tumor associated changes in DNA methylation pattern. A number of excellentrecent reviews have covered this issue in depth. Therefore, this review will summarize our recent data on DNA methy-lation profiling in cancers. Perspectives for the future direction in this dynamic and exciting field will also be given.

DNA methylation,microRNAs,and their crosstalk as potential biomarkers in hepatocellular carcinoma

Epigenetic alterations have been identified as a major characteristic in human cancers.Advances in the field of epigenetics have contributed significantly in refining our knowledge of molecular mechanisms underlying malignant transformation.DNA methylation and microRNA expression are epigenetic mechanisms that are widely altered in human cancers including hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC),the third leading cause of cancer related mortality worldwide.Both DNA methylation and microRNA expression patterns are regulated in developmental stage specific-,cell type specific-and tissue-specific manner.The aberrations are inferred in the maintenance of cancer stem cells and in clonal cell evolution during carcinogenesis.The availability of genome-wide technologies for DNA methylation and microRNA profiling has revolutionized the field of epigenetics and led to the discovery of a number of epigenetically silenced microRNAs in cancerous cells and primary tissues.Dysregulation of these microRNAs affects several key signalling pathways in hepatocarcinogenesis suggesting that modulation of DNA methylation and/or microRNA expression can serve as new therapeutic targets for HCC.Accumulative evidence shows that aberrant DNA methylation of certain microRNA genes is an event specifically found in HCC which correlates with unfavorable outcomes.Therefore,it can potentially serve as a biomarker for detection as well as for prognosis,monitoring and predicting therapeutic responses in HCC.