Bisulfite-modified target DNA array for aberrant methylation analysis

DNA methylation of cancer genome

DNA methylation plays an important role in regulating normal development and carcinogenesis. Current understanding of the biological roles of DNA methylation is limited to its role in the regulation of gene transcription, genomic imprinting, genomic stability, and X chromosome inactivation. In the past 2 decades, a large number of changes have been identified in cancer epigenomes when compared with normals. These alterations fall into two main categories, namely, hypermethylation of tumor suppressor genes and hypomethylation of oncogenes or heterochromatin, respectively. Aberrant methylation of genes controlling the cell cycle, proliferation, apoptosis, metastasis, drug resistance, and intracellular signaling has been identified in multiple cancer types. Recent advancements in whole-genome analysis of methylome have yielded numerous differentially methylated regions, the functions of which are largely unknown. With the development of high resolution tiling microarrays and high throughput DNA sequencing, more cancer methylomes will be profiled, facilitating the identification of new candidate genes or ncRNAs that are related to oncogenesis, new prognostic markers, and the discovery of new target genes for cancer therapy.

Methylation pattern analysis using high-throughput microarray of solid-phase hyperbranched rolling circle amplification products

Monitoring the methylation pattern of a single tumor cell might be important in understanding the mechanism of tumor initiation and progression. In this study, we developed a method based on molecular cloning microarray strategy for analyzing methylation patterns of a single DNA fragment from a group of tumor cells. In the method, a microarray of single monoclones of bisulfate-treated PCR products was fabricated by two-primer hyperbranched rolling circle amplification (HRCA) in polyacrylamide gel, in which a library of the bisulfate-treated PCR products with different methylated status from tumor cells were ligated to circle molecules to form HRCA templates, and one of the HRCA primers was modified with acrylamide on its 5'-end. Due to the diffusion retardation of HRCA products in a polyacrylamide matrix, the HRCA products are localized near their respective templates, and formed to a microarray of monoclones. After the nonimmobilized strands were removed, three pairs of probes were used to detect different CpG sites of each clone simultaneously by hybridization. We successfully analyzed the methylation patterns of P16 gene for three cases of stomach tumor tissues. This method could provide a significant tool in detecting the distribution of cells with different methylation patterns in one tumor tissue.

Techniques used in studies of epigenome dysregulation due to aberrant DNA methylation: an emphasis on fetal-based adult diseases

Epigenetic changes are heritable modifications that do not involve alterations in the primary DNA sequence. They regulate crucial cellular functions such as genome stability, X-chromosome inactivation, and gene imprinting. Epidemiological and experimental observations now suggest that such changes may also explain the fetal basis of adult diseases such as cancer, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, neurological diseases, and behavioral modifications. The main molecular events known to initiate and sustain epigenetic modifications are histone modification and DNA methylation. This review specifically focuses on existing and emerging technologies used in studying DNA methylation, which occurs primarily at CpG dinucleotides in the genome. These include standard exploratory tools used for global profiling of DNA methylation and targeted gene investigation: methylation sensitive restriction fingerprinting (MSRF), restriction landmark genomic scanning (RLGS), methylation CpG island amplification-representational difference analysis (MCA-RDA), differential methylation hybridization (DMH), and cDNA microarrays combined with treatment with demethylating agents and inhibitors of histone deacetylase. The basic operating principals, resource requirements, applications, and benefits and limitations of each methodology are discussed. Validation methodologies and functional assays needed to establish the role of a CpG-rich sequence in regulating the expression of a target or candidate gene are outlined. These include in silico database searches, methylation status studies (bisulfite genomic sequencing, COBRA, MS-PCR, MS-SSCP), gene expression studies, and promoter activity analyses. Our intention is to give readers a starting point for choosing methodologies and to suggest a workflow to follow during their investigations. We believe studies of epigenetic changes such as DNA methylation hold great promise in understanding the early origins of adult diseases and in advancing their diagnosis, prevention, and treatment.

In situ bisulfite modification of membrane-immobilized DNA for multiple methylation analysis

Increasing interest in DNA methylation has resulted in the recent development of array-based methods. However, these method require complex sample treatment processes, such as bisulfite modification in the liquid state of every sample. Here, we describe a microarray-based technology for interrogating DNA methylation status of multiple DNA samples at the same time, in which the DNA samples are first dotted on membranes and then treated with bisulfite directly. In this assay, plasmid pUC19 DNA is immobilized on nylon membranes and soaked in bisulfite reaction mixtures for 16h to convert unmethylated Cs to Us, and methylated Cs remain unchanged. The probes for detecting the methylation patterns of CpG sites are hybridized with the converted DNA dotted on the membranes, and the signals are revealed by chemiluminescence of DIG-labeled probes. The experiments show that this method can simplify the experimental processes and increase the efficiency of the bisulfite treatment. This new method could be used as a convenient tool for detecting the methylation status of multiple genes for a large number of samples in the future.

DNA methylation mapping by tag-modified bisulfite genomic sequencing

A tag-modified bisulfite genomic sequencing (tBGS) method employing direct cycle sequencing of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products at kilobase scale, without conventional DNA fragment cloning, was developed for simplified evaluation of DNA methylation sites. The method entails subjecting bisulfite-modified genomic DNA to a second-round PCR amplification employing GC-tagged primers. Qualitative results from tBGS closely correlated with those from conventional BGS (R=0.935, p=0.002). In application, the intertissue and interindividual CpG methylation differences in promoter sequence for two genes, CYP1B1 and GSTP1, were then explored across four human tissue types (peripheral blood cells, exfoliated buccal cells, paired nontumor-tumor lung tissues), and two lung cell types in culture (normal NHBE and malignant A549). Predominantly conserved methylation maps for the two gene promoters were apparent across donors and tissues. At any given CpG site, variation in the degree of methylation could be determined by the relative height of C and T peaks in the sequencing trace. Methylation maps for the GSTP1 promoter diverged between NHBE (unmethylated) and A549 (completely methylated) cells in a previously unexplored upstream region, correlating with a 2.7-fold difference in GSTP1 mRNA expression (p<0.01). The tBGS method simplifies detailed methylation scanning of kilobase-scale genomic DNA, facilitating more ambitious genomic methylation mapping studies.