A unique downregulation of h2-calponin gene expression in Down syndrome: a possible attenuation mechanism for fetal survival by methylation at the CpG island in the trisomic chromosome 21.

To understand the effect of trisomic chromosome 21 on the cause of Down syndrome (DS), DNA methylation in the CpG island, which regulates the expression of adjacent genes, was investigated with the DNAs of chromosome 21 isolated from DS patients and their parents. A methylation-sensitive enzyme, BssHII, was used to digest DNAs of chromosome 21, and the resulting DNA fragments were subjected to RLGS (restriction landmark genomic scanning). Surprisingly, the CpG island of the h2-calponin gene was shown to be specifically methylated by comparative studies with RLGS and Southern blot analysis. In association with this methylation, h2-calponin gene expression was attenuated to the normal level, although other genes in the DS region of chromosome 21 were expressed dose dependently at 1.5 times the normal level. These results and the high miscarriage rate associated with trisomy 21 embryos imply that the altered in vivo methylation that attenuates downstream gene expression, which is otherwise lethal, permits the generation of DS neonates. The h2-calponin gene detected by the RLGS procedure may be one such gene that is attenuated.