Overview -- Nearest-Neighbor Analysis -- Measurement of Genome-Wide DNA Cytosine-5 Methylation by Reversed-Phase High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography -- Methylation Analysis by Chemical DNA Sequencing -- Methylation-Sensitive Restriction Fingerprinting -- Restriction Landmark Genome Scanning -- Combined Bisulfite Restriction Analysis (COBRA) -- Differential Methylation Hybridization Using CpG Island Arrays -- Methylated CpG Island Amplification for Methylation Analysis and Cloning Differentially Methylated Sequences -- Isolation of CpG Islands Using a Methyl-CpG Binding Column -- Purification of MeCP2-Containing Deacetylase from Xenopus laevis -- DNA-Methylation Analysis by the Bisulfite-Assisted Genomic Sequencing Method -- Measuring DNA Demethylase Activity In Vitro -- Extracting DNA Demethylase Activity from Mammalian Cells.

Since methylation is now understood to be integral to DNA replication and transcription, with abnormalities frequently found to occur during tumorigenesis, the number of breakthrough techniques for methylation's study has sharply increased. In DNA Methylation Protocols, an internationally well-recognized panel of investigators offer a set of readily reproducible protocols for the analysis of DNA methylation and methylases. These powerful methods provide the tools necessary for studying methylation at both the global level and the level of sequence, and include many techniques for identifying genes that might be aberrantly methylated in cancer and aging. Additional methods cover genome-wide analysis of abnormal DNA methylation, and the isolation and measurement of demethylases and related proteins. Each technique is described by a hands-on master, and includes a concise summary of the basic theory, a complete materials list, step-by-step instructions for its successful execution, and helpful notes on avoiding pitfalls. Comprehensive and cutting-edge, DNA Methylation Protocols brings together not only the basic methods, but also the many exciting new techniques available today for the analysis of gene- and site-specific DNA methylation, and will prove invaluable to all researchers investigating replication, transcription, growth, differentiation, and carcinogenesis today.