Identification of differentially methylated regions (DMRs) of neuronatin in mice

BACKGROUND: Neuronatin (NNAT) is a paternal-inherited imprinted gene, first discovered in the rat neonatal brain, where it plays vital roles for neuronal growth, brain development, and metabolic regulation. The maternal imprint of NNAT has been identified in mice; however, the differentially methylated regions (DMRs) involved in the monoallelic expression of NNAT have not yet been investigated. RESULTS: In this study, we confirmed expression of two isoforms of the NNAT (α and β) in the mice brain via quantitative RT-PCR. Additionally, the methylation profile of the CpG island located in the NNAT gene locus was determined in the mice liver, brain, sperm, and the MII oocyte via bisulfite sequencing PCR. CONCLUSION: In summary, we provide the first evidence for tissue- and gamete-specific methylation patterns of CpG3 that are located on exon 1, to be putative DMR of NNAT in mice.