Primary Study on dnmts and mecp2 Expression in Lungs of Mice Induced by Formaldehyde

The purpose of the present study was to examine levels of mRNA for DNA methyltransferases (DNMTS) and methyl- CpG-binding proteins 2 (MeCP2 ) in the lung of mouse after middle-level gaseous formaldehyde exposure. Male mice were exposed to clean air or 3.0 mg/m3 formaldehyde for consecutive 72 h and the lungs were dissected for RNA extraction. The mRNA levels of dnmtl, tin in t3a and mecp2 gene were determined with semiquantitative RT-PCR. We observed that the mRNA expression of dnmtl and mecp2 was significantly increased in lung of mouse after exposure to 3.0 mg/m3 of formaldehyde. In conclusion, formaldehyde can raise dnmtl and mecp2 mRNA expression in vivo, this study shows us a possible mechanism that FA may result in promoter hypermethylation of multiple tumor suppressor genes and lead to lung tumorigenesis and poor prognosis by dnmts and mecp2 pathway.