[Progress of research on 5-hydroxymethylcytosine].
5-methylcytosine (5mC) in cytosine-guanine dinucleotide (CpG) is a usual epigenetic modification in mammals. It plays crucial roles in gene regulation, development, genomic imprinting and so on. In the last three years, it was discovered that in addition to 5mC, another modified cytosine base-5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) was abundant in many mammalian tissues, which may have different biological function from 5mC. This paper reviews the recent progresses in the studies of 5hmC.
Shanghai Mental Health Center, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China. 998179_zyx@163.com
Yan-Xia
YX
Zhang
Ke-Run
KR
Gao
Shun-Ying
SY
Yu
D044503:5-Methylcytosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D000818:Animals; D003596:Cytosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis / Q000494:pharmacology; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans
C011865:5-hydroxymethylcytosine; D044503:5-Methylcytosine; D003596:Cytosine