Seminars

DNA methylation is an epigenetic process that is essential for the development of mammals. Its effect is usually linked to heterochromatinization and gene repression, and this involves methyl-binding proteins, which themselve recruit chromatin-modifying enzymes. There are three known families of methyl-binding proteins: MBD (containing MeCP2, MBD1, MBD2, and MBD4); SRA (containing UHRF1 and UHRF2), and Zinc finger (containing Kaiso, ZBTB4, and ZBTB38).
We have been investigating methyl-binding proteins of the Zinc Finger family. Kaiso has been shown to modulate Wnt signaling in Xenopus, and to increase tumorigenesis in APC+/min mutant mice. ZBTB4 is downregulated in many human cancers, and this may be due in part to the fact that it regulates the transcription of p21. Finally, ZBTB38 is the gene presenting the SNPs most tightly associated with human stature.