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Methylation specific oligonucleotide microarray
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<p>Methylation specific oligonucleotide microarray, also known as MSO microarray, was developed as a technique to map <a href="/facts/DNA_methylation/npoRhsnX">epigenetic methylation</a> changes in <a href="/facts/DNA/nB89Iauz">DNA</a> of <a href="/facts/Cancer/PVW6n1D0">cancer</a> cells. </p><p>The general process starts with modification of DNA with <a href="/facts/Bisulfite/4ojEuJ8N">bisulfite</a>, specifically to convert <i>unmethylated</i> cytosine in <a href="/facts/CpG_site/PbPHokwh">CpG sites</a> to uracil, while leaving <i>methylated</i> cytosines untouched. The modified DNA region of interest is amplified via <a href="/facts/Polymerase_chain_reaction/G0jWzJy1">PCR</a> and during the process, uracils are converted to thymine. The <a href="/facts/Amplicon/XEQBxwJX">amplicons</a> are labelled with a <a href="/facts/Cyanine/1VRdKM66">fluorescent dye</a> and hybridized to oligonucleotide <a href="/facts/Hybridization_probe/j3pu1L7E">probes</a> that are fixed to a glass slide. The probes differentially bind to cytosine and thymine residues, which ultimately allows discrimination between methylated and unmethylated CpG sites, respectively. </p><p>A calibration curve is produced and compared with the microarray results of the amplified DNA samples. This allows a general quantification of the proportion of methylation present in the region of interest. </p><p>This microarray technique was developed by Tim Hui-Ming Huang and his laboratory and was officially published in 2002. </p>