title: TET proteins and 5-methylcytosine oxidation in the immune system.
abstract: DNA methylation in the form of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) is essential for normal development in mammals and influences a variety of biological processes, including transcriptional regulation, imprinting, and the maintenance of genomic stability. The recent discovery of TET proteins, which oxidize 5mC to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, 5-formylcytosine, and 5-carboxylcytosine, has changed our understanding of the process of DNA demethylation. Here, we summarize our current knowledge of the roles of DNA methylation and TET proteins in cell differentiation and function. The intensive research on this subject has so far focused primarily on embryonic stem (ES) cells and neurons. In addition, we summarize what is known about DNA methylation in T-cell function.
authors.affiliation: La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, California 92037.
authors.forename: Ageliki
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tsagaratou
authors.affiliation: La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, California 92037 Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0636 Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, La Jolla, California 92037 arao@liai.org.
authors.forename: Anjana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rao
mesh_terms: D044503:5-Methylcytosine / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D000818:Animals; D003596:Cytosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000737:chemistry; D019175:DNA Methylation; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D049308:Dioxygenases; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D047468:Immunoprecipitation; D051379:Mice; D006899:Mixed Function Oxygenases; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000378:metabolism; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C560974:5-carboxylcytosine; C560973:5-formylcytosine; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; C011865:5-hydroxymethylcytosine; D044503:5-Methylcytosine; D003596:Cytosine; D006899:Mixed Function Oxygenases; D010088:Oxidoreductases; C462539:TET1 protein, human; C578792:TET3 protein, human; D049308:Dioxygenases; C541081:TET2 protein, human