DNMT1 and systemic sclerosis: Thus, compared with the controls, skin biopsy specimens and fibroblasts of SSc patients exhibited hypermethylation of CpG islands and reduced acetylation of histones H3 and H4 in the promoter region of the FLI1 gene, as well as significantly higher levels of DNA methyltransferase DNMT1, histone deacetylases HDAC1 and HDAC6, proteins MBD-1 and MBD-2 (proteins containing a methyl-CpG DNA binding domain), and MeCP2 (protein of the methylated CpG binding domain) [57].