Impact of cytosine methylation on DNA binding specificities of human transcription factors

Positives and negatives of methylated CpG When the DNA bases cytosine and guanine are next to each other, a methyl group is generally added to the pyrimidine, generating a mCpG dinucleotide. This modification alters DNA structure but can also affect function by inhibiting transcription factor (TF) binding. Yin et al. systematically analyzed the effect of CpG methylation on the binding of 542 human TFs (see the Perspective by Hughes and Lambert). In addition to inhibiting binding of some TFs, they found that mCpGs can promote binding of others, particularly TFs involved in development, such as homeodomain proteins. Science , this issue p. eaaj2239 ; see also p. 489