アクティブボード・２０１１年　２月
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研究発表を行った学会；
・第３３回日本分子生物学会年会　
　２０１０年１２月７日〜１０日（神戸）

タイトル；Sequence-specific recognition of methylated DNA by human zinc-finger proteins.
　
発表者；　笹井　信広　氏
　　　（熊本大学　発生医学研究所　細胞医学分野）

Abstract；
DNA methylation is an essential epigenetic mark in mammals. Three classes of mammalian proteins recognize methylated DNA: MBD proteins, SRA proteins and the zinc-finger proteins Kaiso, ZBTB4 and ZBTB38. While the mechanisms by which the SRA and MBD domains recognize methylated DNA have been well established, nothing is known about how the Zinc finger proteins bind methylated DNA. In addition, the zinc finger proteins can bind either methylated DNA or unmethylated consensus sequences; how this is achieved is largely unclear. Here, we report that ZBTB4 and related proteins bind methylated DNA in a sequence-specific manner: the nucleotides surrounding the methylated CpG directly contribute to the binding affinity. ZBTB4 also binds a related sequence in unmethylated DNA, but with lower affinity. The mode of binding could resemble the canonical mechanism used by C2H2 zinc-finger proteins. These findings have implications for the possible targets and roles of the Kaiso-related proteins. In addition, they suggest that other zinc-finger proteins might bind methylated DNA in mammals.