An epigenetic cytosine DNA demethylation pathway that starts with the enzymatic oxidation of the 5-methylcytosine (5meC) to generate 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), which successively converted to 5-formylcytosine (5fC) and 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC).  A DNA glycosylase (e. g. TDG) recognizes the  intermediate bases 5fC and 5caC and excises the modified base to initiate its replacement with unmethylated cytosine through base excision repair.
epigenetic 5-methylcytosine DNA demethylation, oxidation pathway