title: Analysis of tissue-specific DNA methylation during development.
abstract: The establishment of a cell identification method more accurate than the conventional morphological and cell-type-specific marker analyses has been desired. DNA methylation is related to the gene activity including gene-silencing and is a key mechanism of epigenetics underling cellular differentiaion and development in mammals. Recent studies indicated that there exist unique genomic DNA methylation profiles specific to the cell type. DNA methylation profiles a mechanism for memorizing the set of genes inherent in individual type of cells. In this chapter, we present the methods to analyze DNA methylation status for identifying cells or tissues.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cellular Biochemistry, Animal Resources Sciences/Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ohgane
authors.forename: Naka
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hattori
authors.forename: Kunio
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shiota
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001345:Autoradiography; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D018899:CpG Islands / Q000502:physiology*; D019175:DNA Methylation; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D018392:Genomic Imprinting; D048788:Growth and Development; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000378:metabolism*