Identification of DNA methylation in 3' genomic regions that are associated with upregulation of gene expression in colorectal cancer.

Restriction landmark genomic scanning (RLGS), a method for the two-dimensional display of end-labeled DNA restriction fragments, was utilized to identify genomic regions of CpG island methylation associated with human colon cancer. An average of 1.5% of the RLGS loci/spots are lost or significantly reduced in sporadic primary colon tumors relative to normal colon mucosa from the same patient.

Association of tissue-specific differentially methylated regions (TDMs) with differential gene expression.

Early studies proposed that DNA methylation could have a role in regulating gene expression during development [Riggs, A.D. (1975) Cytogenet.