Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
8648027 | Blood Cells, Molecules, and Diseases | 2018 | 18 Pages |
Abstract
Erythroid Krüppel-like factor (EKLF/KLF1) is an erythroid-specific transcription factor whose activity is essential for erythropoiesis. The underlying mechanisms for EKLF specifically restricted to erythroid cells are of great interest but remain incompletely understood. To explore the epigenetic regulation of EKLF expression by promoter DNA methylation, we investigated the methylation status of the EKLF promoter and EKLF gene expression from a panel of human tissues. We observed that erythroid-specific hypomethylation of the EKLF promoter in adult erythroid cells was positively associated with EKLF expression. Demethylation of the EKLF promoter by 5-aza-2â²-deoxycytidine led to elevated EKLF expression in non-erythroid cells. We further uncovered that EKLF promoter DNA methylation reduced the binding affinity for the transcription factors GATA1 and c-myb (MYB), which in turn silenced EKLF expression. These results suggest that hypomethylation of the EKLF promoter has functional significance in the establishment and maintenance of erythroid-specific gene expression.
Keywords
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Molecular Biology
Authors
Yihong Li, Dun Liu, Zhiming Li, Xinhua Zhang, Yuhua Ye, Qifa Liu, Jie Shen, Zhi Chen, Huajie Huang, Yunhao Liang, Xu Han, Jing Liu, Xiuli An, Narla Mohandas, Xiangmin Xu,