查看文章

Epigenetic mechanisms play an important role in the tissue-specific regulation of gene expression. This study analyzed the relationship between tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase (ALPL) gene expression and the methylation of a CpG island located in its proximal region. Gene expression was analyzed by real time RT-qPCR in primary human osteoblasts (hOBs), the osteoblastic cell line MG-63, the mammary cell line MCF-7, and bone tissue. DNA methylation was analyzed by qMSP in those cells and also in lining osteoblasts and in osteocytes obtained from human bone samples by laser-assisted capture. hOBs expressed much more ALPL mRNA than MG-63 cells (7.3±3.2 vs. 0.2±0.1 arbitrary units, respectively). hOBs showed a very weak DNA methylation (<10%), whereas MG-63 had a higher degree of methylation (58±6%). Likewise, MCF-7 cells, which scarcely expressed ALPL, had a hypermethylated …