DNA demethylation in vitro: Involvement of RNA

Alona Weiss*, Ilana Keshet, Aharon Razin, Howard Cedar

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

167 Scopus citations

Abstract

An in vitro system for studying DNA demethylation has been established using extracts from tissue culture cells. This reaction, which is unusually resistant to proteinase K, takes place through the removal of a 5- methylcytosine nucleotide unit from the DNA substrate end its conversion to an RNase-sensitive form. It is likely that this represents the in vivo mechanism, as well, since extracts from L8 mybolasts specifically demethylate an α-actin gene, while extracts from F9 teratocarcinoma cells specifically demodify the Aprt CpG island. After pretreatment with proteinase K, these extracts demethylate both genes equally, suggesting that gene specificity may be controlled by protein factors.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)709-718
Number of pages10
JournalCell
Volume86
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 6 Sep 1996

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'DNA demethylation in vitro: Involvement of RNA'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this