DNA methylation and histone acetylation of rat methionine adenosyltransferase 1A and 2A genes is tissue-specific.

Methionine adenosyltransferase (MAT) catalyzes the biosynthesis of S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet). In mammals MAT activity derives from two separate genes which display a tissue-specific pattern of expression. While MAT1A is expressed only in the adult liver, MAT2A is expressed in non-hepatic tissues. The mechanisms behind the selective expression of these two genes are not fully understood. In the present report we have evaluated MAT1A and MAT2A methylation in liver and in other tissues, such as kidney, by methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme digestion of genomic DNA. Our data indicate that MAT1A is hypomethylated in liver and hypermethylated in non-expressing tissues. The opposite situation is found for MAT2A. Additionally, histones associated to MAT1A and MAT2A genes showed enhanced levels of acetylation in expressing tissues (two-fold for MAT1A and 3.5-fold for MAT2A liver and kidney respectively). These observations support a role for chromatin structure and its modification in the tissue-specific expression of both MAT genes.