Despite their abundance of methylatable cytosines, CpG islands are thought to be unmethylated in all tissues regardless of gene expression, except for imprinted genes and genes located on the inactive X chromosome. This implies'that CpG island methylation could not play a role in establishing and maintaining tissue-specific gene expression. However, in a preliminary analysis of four different tissue/cell types, we identified a gene, SHANK3, whose CpG island methylation and expression patterns appear tissue type- specific and evolutionarily conserved. I hypothesize that CpG island methylation helps to establish and maintain the tissue-specific expression pattern of SHANK3. This study of SHANK3, an essential gene for normal brain development, will provide a specific example of how CpG island methylation contributes to tissue-specific gene expression patterns and, based on our genome-wide analysis of CpG islands, may be widely applicable to hundreds of additional tissue-specific genes.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (F31)
Project #
5F31NS049850-02
Application #
7081283
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-F08 (29))
Program Officer
Mamounas, Laura
Project Start
2005-06-03
Project End
2008-06-02
Budget Start
2006-06-03
Budget End
2007-06-02
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2006
Total Cost
$30,626
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California San Francisco
Department
Neurosurgery
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
094878337
City
San Francisco
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
94143