Methylation profiling using methylated DNA immunoprecipitation and tiling array hybridization.

DNA methylation is an important epigenetic modification that regulates development and plays a role in the pathophysiology of many diseases. It is dynamically changed during germline development. Methylated DNA immunoprecipitation (MeDIP) is an efficient, cost-effective method for locus-specific and genome-wide analysis. Methylated DNA fragments are enriched by a 5-methylcytidine-recognizing antibody, therefore allowing the analysis of both CpG and non-CpG methylation. The enriched DNA fragments can be amplified and hybridized to tiling arrays covering CpG islands, promoters, or the entire genome. Comparison of different methylomes permits the discovery of differentially methylated regions that might be important in disease- or tissue-specific expression. Here, we describe an established MeDIP protocol and tiling array hybridization method for profiling methylation of testicular germ cells.