Background Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy)-mediated dysfunction of endothelial NO system is an important mechanism for atherosclerotic pathogenesis.Dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH) is the key enzyme for degrading asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA),which is an endogenous inhibitor of endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase (eNOS).This study was designed to investigate whether the dysfunction of endothelial NO system originates from HHcy-mediated aberrant methylation modification in promotor region of DDAH2 gene.Methods Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were cultured to the third generation and treated with homocysteine (Hcy) at different concentrations (0,10,30,100,and 300 μmol/L) for 72 hours.The methylation patt in promoter region CpG island of DDAH2 gene was analyzed by nested methylation-specific PCR (nMSP).The mRNA expression of eNOS gene and DDAH2 gene was detected by semi-quantitative RT-PCR.The activity of DDAH2 and eNOS in cells,and the concentrations of ADMA and NO in culture medium were assayed respectively.Results Mild increased concentration of Hcy (10 and 30 μmol/L) induced hypomethylation,while high concentration of Hcy (100 and 300 μmol/L) induced hypermethylation in the promoter CpG island of DDAH2 gene.The mRNA expression of DDAH2 increased in mild enhanced concentration of Hcy,and decreased in high concentration of Hcy correspondingly.The inhibition of DDAH2 activity,the increase of ADMA concentration,the reduction of eNOS activity and the decrease of NO production were all consistently relevant to the alteration of Hcy concentration Conclusion The increased concentration of Hcy induced aberrant methylation patt in promotor region of DDAH2 gene and the successive alterations in DDAH/ADMA/NOS/NO pathway,which showed highly relevant and dose-effect relationship.The results suggested that the dysfunction of endothelial NO system induced by HHcy could be partially originated from Hcy-mediated aberrant methylation in DDAH2 gene.