MeCP2 (Methyl-CpG Binding Protein 2) is a chromosomal protein that binds to methylated DNA. It can bind specifically to a single methyl-CpG pair and is not influenced by sequences flanking the methyl-CpGs. MeCP2 has been shown to mediate transcriptional repression through interaction with histone deacetylase and the corepressor SIN3A (Nan et al., 1998). Defects in MeCP2 are the cause of Rett syndrome (RTT) (Amir et al., 1999). RTT is an X-linked dominant disease, it is a progressive neurologic developmental disorder and one of the most common causes of mental retardation in females.
