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The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether mandatory fortification of grain products with folic acid in the USA is associated with changes in global DNA methylation in cells involved in cervical carcinogenesis. Archived specimens of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) diagnosed before (1990–92) and after mandatory folic acid fortification (2000–02) were used to examine for global DNA methylation in specific lesions involved in cervical carcinogenesis by using a monoclonal antibody specific for 5 methyl cytosine (5-mc). The total number of lesions examined was 152 in the pre-fortification period and 172 in the post-fortification period. Immunohistochemical staining for 5-mc, the assessment of methylation status and data entry were blinded with regard to the fortification status. Age- and race-adjusted mean percentage of cells positive for 5-mc or the 5-mc score was not significantly different (P>0.05) between the pre- and post fortification periods in any of the individual lesions evaluated (i.e., normal cervical epithelium, reactive cervical epithelium, metaplastic cervical epithelium, CIN or carcinoma in situ). The degree of global DNA methylation was significantly higher (P<0.0001) in &ges; CIN 2 lesions compared to &les; CIN 1 lesions, regardless of the fortification group. These results suggest that mandatory fortification with folic acid in the United States has not resulted in a change in the degree or the pattern of global DNA methylation in cells involved in cervical carcinogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA methylation has a role in the regulation of gene expression during normal mammalian development but can also mediate epigenetic silencing of CpG island genes in cancer and other diseases. Many individual genes (including tumor suppressors) have been shown to undergo de novo methylation in specific tumor types, but the biological logic inherent in this process is not understood. To decipher this mechanism, we have adopted a new approach for detecting CpG island DNA methylation that can be used together with microarray technology. Genome-wide analysis by this technique demonstrated that tumor-specific methylated genes belong to distinct functional categories, have common sequence motifs in their promoters and are found in clusters on chromosomes. In addition, many are already repressed in normal cells. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that cancer-related de novo methylation may come about through an instructive mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Although alterations in nonspecific (or global) DNA methylation (GDM) in specific cells are known to be involved in the process of lung carcinogenesis, similar associations have not been evaluated in other smoking-related cancers of the head and neck. Methods. We evaluated the status of GDM by using monoclonal antibodies specific for 5-methylcytosine (5-mc) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) specimens of 48 cigarette smokers who had SCC develop and in 93 age-, race-, and sex-matched smokers who did not. Results. Percentages of cells positive for 5-mc immunostaining of DNA of SCC and dysplastic lesions were significantly higher than those of normal oral epithelial cells from cancer subjects and from noncancer subjects. The degree of DNA methylation was unrelated to DNA content. Conclusions. The pattern of GDM in oral SCCs is different from that of lung SCCs. The differences in nutrient risk factor profiles that are related to GDM and differential activity of DNA methyltranferases between oral and lung SCCs may explain these observations. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck27: XXX–XXX, 2005 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there is growing interest in the possibility that alterations in histone methylation may play a role in carcinogenesis, it has not been explored adequately in humans. Similarly, there are no reports of associations between this and a similar epigenetic event, DNA methylation. Using immunohistochemical staining, we compared the methylation of DNA and histones in histopathologically normal oral epithelium, dysplastic oral lesions, and squamous cell cancers (SCCs) from subjects with squamous cell cancer (n=48) with those of normal oral epithelium from subjects without oral cancer (n=93) who were matched on age and race. Monoclonal antibodies specific for 5 methyl cytosine (5-mc), lysine 4 of histone H_3 (H_3-Lys4), and lysine 9 of histone H_3 (H_3-Lys9) were used in this study. The percentages of cells positive and a weighted average of the immunostaining intensity scores were calculated for each of these tissues, and Spearman correlation analyses were employed to study associations between DNA and histone methylation. Correlations between DNA and histone methylation, H_3-Lys4 and H_3-Lys9 were positive and statistically significant in all tissue types; they were strongest in normal oral epithelium from non-cancer subjects (r=0.63, p < 0.001 and r=0.62, p < 0.001 respectively). Similarly, the positive correlations between H_3-Lys4 and H_3-Lys9 were statistically significant in all tissue types and strongest in normal oral epithelium from non-cancer subjects (r=0.77, p< 0.001). Patterns of DNA and histone methylation are similar in tissues across the spectrum of oral carcinogenesis, and there is a significant positive association between these two epigenetic mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antibodies specifically directed to 5-methylcytidine were raised in rabbits and purified by affinity chromatography. The accessibility of 5-methyldeoxycytidine (m5dCyd) to such antibodies was studied with DNAs from various origins. The reaction was followed by measuring the retention of radiolabelled DNA by antibodies on nitrocellulose filters, by immunoprecipitation, by gel filtration and was visualized with the electron microscope. Antibodies did not bind to Escherichia coli B DNA, which is deficient in m5dCyd. Denatured and native DNA from calf thymus, which contains m5dCyd as a minor nucleoside, was weakly retained on the filters whereas DNA extracted from Xanthomonas oryzac XP12 bacteriophage, which is rich in m5dCyd, was well recognized even in the native form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

: Objective:To determine the relationship between sperm DNA methylation level and sperm characteristics and pregnancy rates.: Design:Prospective study. Quantitation by image analysis of DNA methylation in sperm nucleus.: Setting:Department of Reproduction Biology, Edouard Herriot Hospital, Lyon, France.: Patient(s):Infertile couples undergoing IVF-ET.: Intervention(s):The immunostaining of 5 methyl-cytosine was performed on the spare sperm suspension that was used for an assisted reproduction technology procedure.: Main outcome measure(s):Sperm characteristics according to World Health Organization criteria, sperm motility parameters with computer-assisted semen analysis, sperm DNA methylation level, and heterogeneity index (HI).: Result(s):Sperm DNA methylation level and HI are correlated with sperm DNA characteristics. HI is negatively correlated with fertilization rate; sperm DNA methylation level is correlated with pregnancy rate.: Conclusion(s):The DNA methylation level in human spermatozoa could be a new approach to evaluating the ability of spermatozoa to fertilize and lead to normal embryo development. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The levels of genomic DNA methylation in vertebrate species display a wide range of developmental dynamics. Here, we show that in contrast to mice, the paternal genome of the amphibian, Xenopus laevis, is not subjected to active demethylation of 5-methyl cytosine immediately after fertilization. High levels of methylation in the DNA of both oocyte and sperm are maintained in the early embryo but progressively decline during the cleavage stages. As a result, the Xenopus genome has its lowest methylation content at the midblastula transition (MBT) and during subsequent gastrulation. Between blastula and gastrula stages, we detect a loss of methylation at individual Xenopus gene promoters (TFIIIA, Xbra, and c-Myc II) that are activated at MBT. No changes are observed in the methylation patterns of repeated sequences, genes that are inactive at MBT, or in the coding regions of individual genes. In embryos that are depleted of the maintenance methyltransferase enzyme (xDnmt1), these developmentally programmed changes in promoter methylation are disrupted, which may account for the altered patterns of gene expression that occur in these embryos. Our results suggest that DNA methylation has a role in regulating the timing of gene activation at MBT in Xenopus laevis embryos. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]