The methylation status of cytosines in a t gene promoter region alters with age to downregulate transcriptional activity in human cerebral cortex 

 -  NeuroScience Letters, 275, p.89-92, 1999 .
<br/><br/> Changes with age in the methylation status of cytosines in a promoter region of the t gene were investigated in autopsy human cerebral cortex, using the bisul®te method, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)and direct sequencing of PCR products. While the total number of methylcytosines decreased with age, the changes in methylation status differed among transcription factor binding sites. Cytosines in the AP2-binding sites were never methylated in any of the cases studied at any age. Methylcytosines in the binding sites for Sp1, a transcriptional activator, signi®cantly increased with age, whereas those in the binding sites for GCF, a repressor of GC-rich promoters, signi®cantly decreased with age. These ®ndings suggest that the methylation status of cytosines in the promoter region of the t gene alters with age to decrease its transcriptional activity in the human cerebral cortex. 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Topical Terms: </label><br/>PROMOTER<br/>DNA METHYLATION<br/>NEUROFIBRILLARY TANGLE<br/>AGING