Effects of methylation of non-CpG sequence in the promoter region on the expression of human synaptotagmin XI (syt11)

We have studied the effects of methylation of the promoter region on the expression of human synaptotagmin XI (syt11), a gene implicated in the onset of schizophrenia. Sequence analysis showed that cytosine residues not in the CpG sequence, but still within the promoter region of the gene, are partially methylated. The methylated cytosine residues are located in the mRNA-coding (minus) strand of the promoter region (mCmCTTmCTTmCmC). Gel mobility shift assays showed that when the cytosine residues are methylated, the binding activity of an Sp family protein, a transcription factor, to the region is significantly reduced. Furthermore, transient transcription assays using artificially methylated promoter sequences showed that methylation did reduce the expression of the reporter gene. The biological significance of the finding is discussed in respect to the effect of methylation of non-CpG sequences in promoter regions on gene expression.