W8 cells, 2-N-(acetoxyacetyl)aminofluorene-transformed rat liver epithelial-like cells, secrete no alpha 2(I) collagen chains. This paper reports the first demonstration of DNA methylation in the promoter-5′ region of an alpha 2(I) collagen gene which occurs in W8 cells. Since inhibition of methylation by azacytidine induces transcription of the alpha 2(I) gene, DNA methylation of W8 alpha 2(I) promoter-5′ region could contribute to altered collagen production in these cells.
