Biochemistry Laboratory, School of Engineering and Science, Jacobs University, Bremen, Germany.
Chembiochem. 2011 Jan 24;12(2):206-22. doi: 10.1002/cbic.201000195. Epub 2010 Nov 29.
DNA methylation plays an important role in epigenetic signalling, having an impact on gene regulation, chromatin structure, development and disease. Here, we review the structures and functions of the mammalian DNA methyltransferases Dnmt1, Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b, including their domain structures, catalytic mechanisms, localisation, regulation, post-translational modifications and interaction with chromatin and other proteins, summarising data obtained in genetic, cell biology and enzymatic studies. We focus on the question of how the molecular and enzymatic properties of these enzymes are connected to the dynamics of DNA methylation patterns and to the roles the enzymes play in the processes of de novo and maintenance DNA methylation. Recent enzymatic and genome-wide methylome data have led to a new model of genomic DNA methylation patterns based on the preservation of average levels of DNA methylation in certain regions, rather than the methylation states of individual CG sites.
DNA 甲基化在表观遗传信号中起着重要作用，对基因调控、染色质结构、发育和疾病都有影响。在这里，我们回顾了哺乳动物 DNA 甲基转移酶 Dnmt1、Dnmt3a 和 Dnmt3b 的结构和功能，包括它们的结构域结构、催化机制、定位、调控、翻译后修饰以及与染色质和其他蛋白质的相互作用，总结了遗传、细胞生物学和酶学研究中获得的数据。我们专注于这些酶的分子和酶学特性如何与 DNA 甲基化模式的动态以及酶在从头和维持 DNA 甲基化过程中所扮演的角色联系起来的问题。最近的酶学和全基因组甲基组数据提出了一种新的基于特定区域 DNA 甲基化平均水平保留而不是单个 CG 位点甲基化状态的基因组 DNA 甲基化模式模型。
