Bergman Y, Mostoslavsky R
The Hubert H. Humphrey Center for Experimental Medicine and Cancer Research, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel.
Biol Chem. 1998 Apr-May;379(4-5):401-7. doi: 10.1515/bchm.1998.379.4-5.401.
The regulation of eukaryotic gene expression is a complicated process involving the interaction of a large number of transacting factors with specific cis-regulatory elements. DNA methylation plays a role in this scheme by acting in cis to modulate protein-DNA interactions. Several lines of evidence indicate that methylation serves to silence transcription, mainly through indirect mechanisms involving the assembly of repressive nucleoprotein complexes. DNA demethylation is mostly an active enzymatic process, controlled by cis regulatory elements which provide binding sites for trans demethylation factors. In the immune system DNA methylation plays multiple roles, such as regulating both gene expression and gene rearrangement
真核基因表达的调控是一个复杂的过程，涉及大量反式作用因子与特定顺式调控元件的相互作用。DNA甲基化通过顺式作用来调节蛋白质-DNA相互作用，从而在这一过程中发挥作用。多项证据表明，甲基化主要通过涉及抑制性核蛋白复合物组装的间接机制来使转录沉默。DNA去甲基化大多是一个活跃的酶促过程，受顺式调控元件控制，这些元件为反式去甲基化因子提供结合位点。在免疫系统中，DNA甲基化发挥多种作用，如调控基因表达和基因重排。
