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Updated: May 11, 2026

Immunohistochemical Detection of 5-Methylcytosine and 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine in Developing and Postmitotic Mouse Retina
Published on: August 29, 2018
Age- and sex-dependent DNA hypomethylation controlled by growth hormone in mouse liver
Masaki Takasugi1, Koji Hayakawa, Daisuke Arai
1Laboratory of Cellular Biochemistry, Department of Animal Resource Science/Veterinary Medical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan.
Abstract:
In mammals, differences in liver function and aging have been observed between sexes; however, the epigenetic mechanisms underlying such differences remain largely unexplored. In this study, we investigated sex- and age-dependent DNA methylation status in the mouse liver. We analyzed 90 known sex-differentially expressed genes, and identified sex-dependent methylation in Zfp809, Hsd3b5, Treh, Cxcl11, Cyp17a1, and Nnmt genes. After 4 weeks of age, we noted the gradual establishment of sex-dependent hypomethylation in each of these genes in either males or females. The exposure of male mice to female-like growth hormone (GH) profile repressed male-predominant hypomethylation and promoted female-predominant hypomethylation. The occurrence of age-dependent hypomethylation, including at loci for which we also observed sex-dependent changes in DNA methylation, was accompanied by the downregulation of DNMT3A/B. In addition, we found that age-dependent hypomethylation was promoted through liver regeneration induced by partial hepatectomy, suggesting that DNMT activities were not enough to retain methylation levels. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that sex-dependent GH profiles influence the age-progressive hypomethylation under decreased DNMT3A/B levels in certain regions of the genome.
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