Epigenetic basis of regeneration: analysis of genomic DNA methylation profiles in the MRL/MpJ mouse

Epigenetic regulation plays essential role in cell differentiation and dedifferentiation, which are the intrinsic processes involved in regeneration. To investigate the epigenetic basis of regeneration capacity, we choose DNA methylation as one of the most important epigenetic mechanisms and the MRL/MpJ mouse as a model of mammalian regeneration known to exhibit enhanced regeneration response in different organs. We report the comparative analysis of genomic DNA methylation profiles of the MRL/MpJ and the control C57BL/6J mouse. Methylated DNA immunoprecipitation followed by microarray analysis using the Nimblegen '3 × 720 K CpG Island Plus RefSeq Promoter' platform was applied in order to carry out genome-wide DNA methylation profiling covering 20 404 promoter regions. We identified hundreds of hypo- and hypermethylated genes and CpG islands in the heart, liver, and spleen, and 37 of them in the three tissues. Decreased inter-tissue diversification and the shift of DNA methylation balance upstream the genes distinguish the genomic methylation patterns of the MRL/MpJ mouse from the C57BL/6J. Homeobox genes and a number of other genes involved in embryonic morphogenesis are significantly overrepresented among the genes hypomethylated in the MRL/MpJ mouse. These findings indicate that epigenetic patterning might be a likely molecular basis of regeneration capability in the MRL/MpJ mouse.