The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist 2010;12:1:37-42
doi: 10.1576/toag.12.1.037.27556
Copyright © 2010 by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
DNA methylation: a form of epigenetic control of gene expression
Derek H K Lim, DCH MRCPCH, Clinical Research Fellow and Specialist Registrar in Clinical Genetics1 and
Eamonn R Maher, BSc MD FRCP FMedSci, Professor of Medical Genetics2
1. Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Institute of Biomedical Research, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK; and West Midlands Regional Genetics Service, Birmingham Womens Hospital, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TG, UK
2. Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK; and West Midlands Regional Genetics Service, Birmingham, UK Email: E.R.Maher{at}bham.ac.uk (corresponding author)
Key content:
- Epigenetic factors such as DNA methylation play an important role in regulating gene expression.
- Aberrant DNA methylation is a feature of a number of important human diseases.
- Epigenetic changes are common in human cancer cells.
Learning objectives:
- To appreciate the role of DNA methylation as a regulator of gene expression.
- To understand the role of DNA methylation in normal gene function.
- To illustrate how DNA methylation is implicated in the regulation of genomic imprinting.
- To draw attention to how altered DNA methylation can result in human diseases such as imprinting disorders and cancer.
Ethical issues:
- What are the implications for assisted reproductive technologies?
- There are possible difficulties in interpreting the clinical significance of alterations in DNA methylation.
Please cite this article as: Lim DHK, Maher ER. DNA methylation: a form of epigenetic control of gene expression. The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist 2010;12:37–42.
Keywords Beckwith–Wiedemann syndrome / cancer / genomic imprinting / Russell–Silver syndrome / tumour suppressor genes
Copyright © 2010 by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.