Effects of Hydroquinone on the Expression of DNA Methyltransferase

Objective To explore the molecular mechanisms of global DNA hypomethylation induced by hydroquinone(HQ).Methods TK6 cells were exposed to 2.5,5.0,10.0 and 20.0 μmol/L HQ prepared by PBS buffer,and TK6 cells treated with PBS served as the control.Expressions of DNA methyltransferase(DNMT),DNMT1,DNMT3a and DNMT3b,were tested by real-time fluorescence quantitive PCR.Results Expressions of DNMT1,DNMT3a and DNMT3b mRNA in the HQ-treated cells were severely inhibited as compared to those in the control cells,with the most remarkable inhibition at 20 μmol/L,showing a decrease by 46%,83% and 48% respectively(all P0.05).The expressions of DNMT1 and DNMT3a showed more decrease with the increase of HQ dose.Conclusions Global DNA hypomethylation induced by hydroquinone may be associated with the deregulated expressions of DNMT1,DNMT3a and DNMT3b.