Genome-wide DNA methylation differences between ex vivo differentiated cells that recapitulate the fetal-to-adult hemoglobin switch

The aim of this study is to characterize de genome-wide DNA methylation changes that occur during the fetal-to-adult hemoglobin switch in erythroblasts. We differentiated CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells collected for either fetal liver or bone marrow into erythroblasts. After differentiation, cells produce respectively fetal hemoglobin and adult hemoglobin in majority. We compared genome-wide DNA methylation states of fetal-stage erythroblasts to those of adult-stage erythroblasts. Human erythroblasts were generated from either fetal liver or bone marrow CD34+ cells. Bisulfite converted DNA from 12 samples from each condition (total=24) was hybridized to the Illumina 450K HumanMethylation Beadchip.