Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
6
pubmed:dateCreated
1996-8-12
pubmed:databankReference
pubmed:abstractText
We have isolated a mouse testis-specific H2B histone gene based on the unusual methylation of the CpG island of rat testis-specific H2B gene in somatic tissues. After digestion of genomic DNA with the methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme Hha I, we found that, among 10-20 copies of mouse H2B histone genes, at least three copies are methylated in somatic tissues, but not in testis. Cloning and sequence analysis of two methylated H2B genes revealed that one gene, MTH2B, is strikingly similar to the testis-specific histone H2B (TH2B) gene of rat and the other, psH2B, is a pseudogene of the somatic-type H2B gene. Northern blot analysis revealed that the expression of the MTH2B gene is testis-specific. During spermatogenesis, the MTH2B gene is expressed predominantly in pachytene spermatocytes, as observed in the expression of rat TH2B gene. Interestingly, the MTH2B gene is largely unmethylated in embryonic stem cells, but methylated in F9 embryonal carcinoma cells. The psH2B pseudogene is methylated in somatic tissues and F9 cells, but only partially methylated in embryonic stem cells. Methylation of the psH2B pseudogene seems to be attributed to its location within the context of repetitive sequences including the B1 element. The unmethylation of both H2B histone genes in the testis explains how CpG islands of those histone genes can be maintained during evolution despite heavy methylation in somatic tissues.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jun
pubmed:issn
1044-5498
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
15
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
495-504
pubmed:dateRevised
2008-11-21
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:8672246-Amino Acid Sequence, pubmed-meshheading:8672246-Animals, pubmed-meshheading:8672246-Base Sequence, pubmed-meshheading:8672246-Cloning, Molecular, pubmed-meshheading:8672246-CpG Islands, pubmed-meshheading:8672246-DNA, pubmed-meshheading:8672246-Embryonal Carcinoma Stem Cells, pubmed-meshheading:8672246-Genes, pubmed-meshheading:8672246-Histones, pubmed-meshheading:8672246-Male, pubmed-meshheading:8672246-Methylation, pubmed-meshheading:8672246-Mice, pubmed-meshheading:8672246-Molecular Sequence Data, pubmed-meshheading:8672246-Neoplastic Stem Cells, pubmed-meshheading:8672246-Organ Specificity, pubmed-meshheading:8672246-Pseudogenes, pubmed-meshheading:8672246-RNA, Messenger, pubmed-meshheading:8672246-Rats, pubmed-meshheading:8672246-Restriction Mapping, pubmed-meshheading:8672246-Sequence Analysis, DNA, pubmed-meshheading:8672246-Stem Cells, pubmed-meshheading:8672246-Testis
pubmed:year
1996
pubmed:articleTitle
Molecular cloning of mouse somatic and testis-specific H2B histone genes containing a methylated CpG island.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S., Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't