Bio-COBRA: absolute quantification of DNA methylation in electrofluidics chips.

DNA methylation is the best-studied epigenetic modification, and in mammals it describes the conversion of cytosine to 5-methylcytosine in the context of CpG dinucleotides. In recent years, it has become evident that epigenetic mechanisms are severely disrupted in human neoplasia, and evidence suggests that alterations of DNA methylation patterns may be an integral mechanism in the etiology of other diseases such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The main effect of altered DNA methylation is the disruption of normal patterns of gene expression through genomic instability and hypermethylation of CpG islands, which together could lead to uncontrolled cell proliferation. DNA methylation can be reversed through pharmacological intervention via the systemic administration of DNA methylation inhibitors. Thus, the ability to accurately quantify DNA methylation levels in genomic sequences is a prerequisite to assess not only treatment efficacy, but also the effect of the DNA methylation inhibitors on bystander tissues. Several methods are currently available for the analysis of DNA methylation. Nonetheless, accurate and reproducible quantification of DNA methylation remains challenging. Here, we describe Bio-COBRA, a modified protocol for combined bisulfite restriction analysis (COBRA) that incorporates an electrophoresis step in microfluidics chips. Microfluidics technology involves the handling of small amounts of liquid in miniaturized systems. Bio-COBRA provides a platform for the rapid and quantitative assessment of DNA methylation patterns in large sample sets. Its sensitivity and reproducibility also make it an excellent tool for the analysis of DNA methylation in clinical samples.

Accurate quantification of DNA methylation using combined bisulfite restriction analysis coupled with the Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer platform.

DNA methylation is the best-studied epigenetic modification and describes the conversion of cytosine to 5-methylcytosine. The importance of this phenomenon is that aberrant promoter hypermethylation is a common occurrence in cancer and is frequently associated with gene silencing. Various techniques are currently available for the analysis of DNA methylation. However, accurate and reproducible quantification of DNA methylation remains challenging. In this report, we describe Bio-COBRA (combined bisulfite restriction analysis coupled with the Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer platform), as a novel approach to quantitative DNA methylation analysis. The combination of a well-established method, COBRA, which interrogates DNA methylation via the restriction enzyme analysis of PCR-amplified bisulfite treated DNAs, with the Bioanalyzer platform allows for the rapid and quantitative assessment of DNA methylation patterns in large sample sets. The sensitivity and reproducibility of Bio-COBRA make it a valuable tool for the analysis of DNA methylation in clinical samples, which could aid in the development of diagnostic and prognostic parameters with respect to disease detection and management.

Quantitative assessment of DNA methylation: Potential applications for disease diagnosis, classification, and prognosis in clinical settings.

Deregulation of the epigenome is now recognized as a major mechanism involved in the development and progression of human diseases such as cancer. As opposed to the irreversible nature of genetic events, which introduce changes in the primary DNA sequence, epigenetic modifications are reversible and leave the original DNA sequence intact. There is now evidence that the epigenetic landscape in humans undergoes modifications as the result of normal aging, with older individuals exhibiting higher levels of promoter hypermethylation compared to younger ones. Thus, it has been proposed that the higher incidence of certain disease in older individuals might be, in part, a consequence of an inherent change in the control and regulation of the epigenome. These observations are of remarkable clinical significance since the aberrant epigenetic changes characteristic of disease provide a unique platform for the development of new therapeutic approaches. In this review, we address the significance of DNA methylation changes that result or lead to disease, occur with aging, or may be the result of environmental exposure. We provide a detailed description of quantitative techniques currently available for the detection and analysis of DNA methylation and provide a comprehensive framework that may allow for the incorporation of protocols which include DNA methylation as a tool for disease diagnosis and classification, which could lead to the tailoring of therapeutic approaches designed to individual patient needs.

Genome-Wide Transcriptome and Binding Sites Analyses Identify Early FOX Expressions for Enhancing Cardiomyogenesis Efficiency of hESC Cultures.

The differentiation efficiency of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) into heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) is highly sensitive to culture conditions. To elucidate the regulatory mechanisms involved, we investigated hESCs grown on three distinct culture platforms: feeder-free Matrigel, mouse embryonic fibroblast feeders, and Matrigel replated on feeders. At the outset, we profiled and quantified their differentiation efficiency, transcriptome, transcription factor binding sites and DNA-methylation. Subsequent genome-wide analyses allowed us to reconstruct the relevant interactome, thereby forming the regulatory basis for implicating the contrasting differentiation efficiency of the culture conditions. We hypothesized that the parental expressions of FOXC1, FOXD1 and FOXQ1 transcription factors (TFs) are correlative with eventual cardiomyogenic outcome. Through WNT induction of the FOX TFs, we observed the co-activation of WNT3 and EOMES which are potent inducers of mesoderm differentiation. The result strengthened our hypothesis on the regulatory role of the FOX TFs in enhancing mesoderm differentiation capacity of hESCs. Importantly, the final proportions of cells expressing cardiac markers were directly correlated to the strength of FOX inductions within 72 hours after initiation of differentiation across different cell lines and protocols. Thus, we affirmed the relationship between early FOX TF expressions and cardiomyogenesis efficiency.

Screening ethnically diverse human embryonic stem cells identifies a chromosome 20 minimal amplicon conferring growth advantage.

The International Stem Cell Initiative analyzed 125 human embryonic stem (ES) cell lines and 11 induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell lines, from 38 laboratories worldwide, for genetic changes occurring during culture. Most lines were analyzed at an early and late passage. Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis revealed that they included representatives of most major ethnic groups. Most lines remained karyotypically normal, but there was a progressive tendency to acquire changes on prolonged culture, commonly affecting chromosomes 1, 12, 17 and 20. DNA methylation patterns changed haphazardly with no link to time in culture. Structural variants, determined from the SNP arrays, also appeared sporadically. No common variants related to culture were observed on chromosomes 1, 12 and 17, but a minimal amplicon in chromosome 20q11.21, including three genes expressed in human ES cells, ID1, BCL2L1 and HM13, occurred in >20% of the lines. Of these genes, BCL2L1 is a strong candidate for driving culture adaptation of ES cells.

Restriction landmark genome scanning identifies culture-induced DNA methylation instability in the human embryonic stem cell epigenome.

Widespread provision of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) for therapeutic use, drug screening and disease modelling will require cell lines sustainable over long periods in culture. Since the short-term, in vitro culture of mammalian embryos can result in DNA methylation changes, the epigenetic stability of hESCs warrants investigation. Existing hESC lines have been derived and cultured under diverse conditions, providing the potential for programming differential changes into the epigenome that may result in inter-line variability over and above that inherited from the embryo. By examining the DNA methylation profiles of > 2000 genomic loci by Restriction Landmark Genome Scanning, we identified substantial inter-line epigenetic distance between six independently derived hESC lines. Lines were found to inherit further epigenetic changes over time in culture, with most changes arising in the earliest stages post-derivation. The loci affected varied between lines. The majority of culture-induced changes (82.3-87.5%) were stably inherited both within the undifferentiated cells and post-differentiation. Adapting a line to a serum-free culture system resulted in additional epigenetic instability. Overall 80.5% of the unstable loci uncovered in hESCs have been associated previously with an adult tumour phenotype. Our study shows that current methods of hESC propagation can rapidly programme stable and unpredictable epigenetic changes in the stem cell genome. This highlights the need for (i) novel screening strategies to determine the experimental utility and biosafety of hESCs and (ii) optimization and standardization of procedures for the derivation and culture of hESC lines that minimize culture-induced instability.

Epigenetic modulation of tumor suppressor CCAAT/enhancer binding protein alpha activity in lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Loss of tumor suppressor CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein-alpha (C/EBPalpha) expression is seen in several human malignancies, including acute myelogenous leukemia and lung cancer. We hypothesized that DNA methylation and histone acetylation of the C/EBPalpha promoter may modulate C/EBPalpha expression in lung cancer. METHODS: We analyzed C/EBPalpha expression in 15 human lung cancer cell lines and in 122 human lung primary tumors by northern blotting, immunoblotting, and immunohistochemistry. C/EBPalpha promoter methylation was assessed using bisulfite sequencing, combined bisulfite restriction analysis, methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction, and Southern blotting. We examined the acetylation status of histones H3 and H4 at the C/EBPalpha promoter by chromatin immunoprecipitation. Binding of methyl-CpG-binding proteins MeCP2 and MBD2 and upstream stimulatory factor (USF) to the C/EBPalpha promoter was assayed in cell lines that were untreated or treated with histone deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A and demethylating agent 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-aza-dC) by chromatin immunoprecipitation and by electrophoretic mobility shift assays. RESULTS: DNA methylation and histone acetylation in the upstream region (-1422 to -896) of the C/EBPalpha promoter were associated with low or absent C/EBPalpha expression in 12 of 15 lung cancer cell lines and in 81 of 120 primary lung tumors. MeCP2 and MBD binding to the upstream C/EBPalpha promoter was detected in C/EBPalpha-nonexpressing cell lines; USF binding was detected in C/EBPalpha-expressing cell lines; however, in C/EBPalpha-nonexpressing cell lines USF binding was detected only after trichostatin A and 5-aza-dC treatment. CONCLUSIONS: DNA hypermethylation of the upstream C/EBPalpha promoter region, not the core promoter region as previously reported, is critical in the regulation of C/EBPalpha expression in human lung cancer.

CpG island hypermethylation profiling of lung cancer using restriction landmark genomic scanning (RLGS) analysis.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer related mortality, accounting for almost one-third of cancer deaths in men and one-fourth of cancer deaths in women; 160,440 lung cancer deaths are expected in 2004. Survival from lung cancer depends mainly upon the stage at presentation. As localized tumors generally do not cause symptoms, the disease is usually diagnosed in symptomatic patients at advanced stages when the prognosis is poor. As a result, the overall 5-year lung cancer survival rate is only 15%. It is well known that epigenetic alterations such as DNA methylation of CpG dinucleotides located in CpG islands within the regulatory (promoter) regions of genes are associated with transcriptional silencing in cancer. Promoter hypermethylation of critical pathway genes could identify potential biomarkers for lung cancer risk. Our goal for this study is to identify novel hypermethylated genes in lung cancer. We have investigated the methylation profiles of DNA samples from 14 paired lung tumor and adjacent normal tissues resected from the same individuals using restriction landmark genomic scanning (RLGS). We could assess the DNA methylation status of an average of 2,012 CpG islands for each tumor. We identified 162 differentially methylated loci where CpG islands were hypermethylated in lung tumors but not in adjacent non-cancer tissues. Among 162 sites of differential DNA methylation, detected from at least one tumor/normal pair, 21 hypermethylated genes were identified that were not reported previously as hypermethylated in lung tumor tissue.