Increased DNA methylation in the livers of patients with alcoholic hepatitis

Epigenetic regulation of gene expression has been suggested to play a critical role in the development of alcoholic hepatitis (AH). Although it has been shown that ethanol-induced damage in hepatocytes resulted from a change in methionine metabolism causes global gene expression changes in hepatocytes, the role of the epigenetic machinery in such processes has, however, been barely investigated. 5-Methylcytosine (5mC) and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) are major molecules of epigenetic DNA modification that play an important role in the control of gene expression. Using antibodies against 5mC and 5hmC, the DNA methylation in patients with AH was examined by immunohistochemistry and quantified by morphometric image analysis. The immunoreactivity intensity of 5mC in patients with AH was significantly higher than that seen in normal controls. While there was a trend of decreased 5-hmC in patients with AH, the difference between patients with AH and normal control was not significant. Our study suggests that aberrant DNA-methylation is associated with pathogenesis of AH.