Differences in Expression of DPP4 in Steatotic Rat Liver Are Not Related to Differences in the Methylation of its Gene Promoter.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the methylation status in the promoter region of Dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (Dpp4) gene, in livers from obese Zucker rats with different patterns of immunohistochemical positivity. Molecular analysis was carried-out on DNA obtained from livers of obese and lean Zucker rats and of control Wistar rats using the bisulfite conversion method and DNA sequencing. Our study focused on the genomic region of 1,000 bp, which includes the final part of 680 bp of the Dpp4 gene promoter and a small stretch of 320 bp at the beginning of the gene. The results indicate that the different immunohistochemical pattern of DPP4 observed in obese (fa/fa) and lean (fa/-) Zucker rats is not correlated to DNA methylation of its promoter. This is in agreement with the results of other studies carried-out on visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue with varying levels of enzyme expression, in which differences in the methylation pattern of the Dpp4 promoter region were not observed.