Roles of TET and TDG in DNA demethylation in proliferating and non-proliferating immune cells [BS-PB]

TET enzymes mediate DNA demethylation by oxidizing 5-methylcytosine (5mC) in DNA to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), 5-formylcytosine (5fC) and 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC). Because these oxidized methylcytosines (oxi-mC) are not recognized by the maintenance methyltransferase DNMT1, DNA demethylation can occur through “passive”, replication-dependent dilution as cells divide. A distinct, replication-independent (“active”) mechanism of DNA demethylation involves excision of 5fC and 5caC by the DNA repair enzyme thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG), followed by base excision repair. Here we used inducible gene-disrupted mice to show that TET enzymes influence both replication-dependent primary T cell differentiation and replication-independent macrophage differentiation, whereas TDG has no effect. Mice with long-term (1 year) deletion of Tdg are healthy and show normal survival and hematopoiesis. In summary, TET enzymes regulate differentiation and DNA demethylation primarily through passive dilution of oxidized methylcytosines in replicating T cells, and active, replication-independent DNA demethylation mediated by TDG does not appear to be essential for immune cell activation or differentiation.