Hairpin-bisulfite PCR: assessing epigenetic methylation patterns on complementary strands of individual DNA molecules.
Epigenetic inheritance, the transmission of gene expression states from parent to daughter cells, often involves methylation of DNA. In eukaryotes, cytosine methylation is a frequent component of epigenetic mechanisms. Failure to transmit faithfully a methylated or an unmethylated state of cytosine can lead to altered phenotypes in plants and animals. A central unresolved question in epigenetics concerns the mechanisms by which a locus maintains, or changes, its state of cytosine methylation. We developed "hairpin-bisulfite PCR" to analyze these mechanisms. This method reveals the extent of methylation symmetry between the complementary strands of individual DNA molecules. Using hairpin-bisulfite PCR, we determined the fidelity of methylation transmission in the CpG island of the FMR1 gene in human lymphocytes. For the hypermethylated CpG island of this gene, characteristic of inactive-X alleles, we estimate a maintenance methylation efficiency of approximately 0.96 per site per cell division. For de novo methylation efficiency (E(d)), remarkably different estimates were obtained for the hypermethylated CpG island (E(d) = 0.17), compared with the hypomethylated island on the active-X chromosome (E(d) < 0.01). These results clarify the mechanisms by which the alternative hypomethylated and hypermethylated states of CpG islands are stably maintained through many cell divisions. We also analyzed a region of human L1 transposable elements. These L1 data provide accurate methylation patterns for the complementary strand of each repeat sequence analyzed. Hairpin-bisulfite PCR will be a powerful tool in studying other processes for which genetic or epigenetic information differs on the two complementary strands of DNA.
Laird
Charles D
CD
Department of Biology, Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. cdlaird@u.washington.edu
Pleasant
Nicole D
ND
Clark
Aaron D
AD
Sneeden
Jessica L
JL
Hassan
K M Anwarul
KM
Manley
Nathan C
NC
Vary
Jay C
JC
Morgan
Todd
T
Hansen
R Scott
RS
Stöger
Reinhard
R
D000483:Alleles; D001483:Base Sequence; D041321:Chromosomes, Human, X / Q000235:genetics; D018899:CpG Islands; D003596:Cytosine / Q000737:chemistry; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics*; D019175:DNA Methylation; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics; D004303:Dosage Compensation, Genetic; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005260:Female; D051860:Fragile X Messenger Ribonucleoprotein 1; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D013447:Sulfites
D003596:Cytosine; D004247:DNA; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D051860:Fragile X Messenger Ribonucleoprotein 1; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D013447:Sulfites; C497683:FMR1 protein, human; C042345:hydrogen sulfite