DNA Methylation - Tissue specific - (Feb/26/2007 )

Hi there,

i wondered whether DNA methylation is a tissue specific phenomenon? If i analyze e.g. DNA from blood samples and brain samples, will i get different methylation patterns or is it representative for the methylation of this gene in all tissues.

Thanks,
Mia

yes, there can be vast differences depending on the tissue and the specific region you analyze.

Makes sense as methylation is thought to control gene expression epigenetically, and gene expression differs between tissues.
So you might get similar values for genomic DNA methylation from different tissues, but the methylation pattern may be completely different.

Tissue is very different.

I use blood methylation as sort of a control when i am studying tissue methylation. You can see what is tissue specific when you compare them.

John Greally gave a talk at ASHG 2006 that highlighted the methylation differences between brain and spermatogenic cells using the HELP assay.

http://greallylab.aecom.yu.edu/HELP/help.html