Epigenetic modifications of gene promoter DNA in the liver of adult female mice masculinized by testosterone

•Epigenetic reprogramming by testosterone (T) of promoter gene DNA in the liver of female mice.•T induces long-lasting hyper- and hypo-methylations of DNA of 47 and 35 gene promoters.•T does not modify promoter DNA of T-responsive male- and female-predominant genes. Testosterone (T) is known to masculinize the female phenotype of the liver, evidenced as up- and down-regulated expressions of male- and female-predominant genes, respectively, involved in hepatic metabolism. This study is aimed at identifying epigenetic modifications of promoters of these differently expressed genes in the liver after masculinization by T of adult female C57BL/6 mice using methylated DNA immunoprecipitation and NimbleGen microarrays. Among the 17,354 promoters examined, 82 promoters in the liver have been identified to be significantly changed by T (p