title: Interleukin-6 regulation of the human DNA methyltransferase (HDNMT) gene in human erythroleukemia cells.
abstract: Methylation of mammalian DNA by the DNA methyltransferase enzyme (dnmt-1) at CpG dinucleotide sequences has been recognized as an important epigenetic control mechanism in regulating the expression of cellular genes (Yen, R. W., Vertino, P. M., Nelkin, B. D., Yu, J. J., el-Deiry, W., Cumaraswamy, A., Lennon, G. G., Trask, B. J., Celano, P., and Baylin, S. B. (1992) Nucleic Acids Res. 20, 2287-2291; Ramchandani, S., Bigey, P., and Szyf, M. (1998) Biol. Chem. 379, 535-5401). Here we show that interleukin (IL)-6 regulates the methyltransferase promoter and resulting enzyme activity, which requires transcriptional activation by the Fli-1 transcription factor (Spyropoulos, D. D., Pharr, P. N., Lavenburg, K. R., Jackers, P., Papas, T. S., Ogawa, M., and Watson, D. K. (1998) Mol. Cell. Biol. 15, 5643-5652). The data suggest that inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 may exert many epigenetic changes in cells via the regulation of the methyltransferase gene. Furthermore, IL-6 regulation of transcription factors like Fli-1, which can help to direct cells along opposing differentiation pathways, may in fact be reflected in part by their ability to regulate the methylation of cellular genes.
authors.affiliation: Intramural Research Support Program, SAIC Frederick, NCI-Frederick Cancer Research and Development Center, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA. hodge@mail.ncifcrf.gov
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Hodge
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Clausen
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Heidecker
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Szyf
authors.forename: W L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Farrar
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation; D000076123:DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferase 1; D004248:DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferases / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D019175:DNA Methylation; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020014:K562 Cells; D004915:Leukemia, Erythroblastic, Acute / Q000201:enzymology*; D008533:Megakaryocytes / Q000166:cytology; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D051789:Proto-Oncogene Protein c-fli-1; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000378:metabolism; D015533:Transcriptional Activation / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D015850:Interleukin-6; D051789:Proto-Oncogene Protein c-fli-1; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; D000076123:DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferase 1; D004248:DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferases