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PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
9
pubmed:dateCreated
2010-9-2
pubmed:abstractText
The prospect of finding epigenetic risk factors for complex diseases would be greatly enhanced if DNA from existing biobanks, which is generally extracted from whole blood, could be used to perform epigenetic association studies. We characterized features of DNA methylation at 16 candidate loci, 8 of which were imprinted, in DNA samples from the Netherlands Twin Register biobank. Except for unmethylated or fully methylated sites, CpG methylation varied considerably in a sample of 30 unrelated individuals. This variation remained after accounting for the cellular heterogeneity of blood. Methylation of CpG sites was correlated within loci and, for 4 imprinted loci, across chromosomes. In 34 additional individuals, we investigated the DNA methylation of 8 representative loci in 2 longitudinal blood and 2 longitudinal buccal cell samples (follow-up 11-20 and 2-8 yr, respectively). Five of 8 loci were stable over time (rho>0.75) in both tissues, indicating that prospective epigenetic studies may be possible. For 4 loci, the DNA methylation in blood (mesoderm) correlated with that in the buccal cells (ectoderm) (rho>0.75). Our data suggest that epigenetic studies on complex diseases may be feasible for a proportion of genomic loci provided that they are carefully designed.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Sep
pubmed:issn
1530-6860
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:volume
24
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
3135-44
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2010
pubmed:articleTitle
Variation, patterns, and temporal stability of DNA methylation: considerations for epigenetic epidemiology.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Molecular Epidemiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Postal Zone S-05-P, PO box 9600, 2300RC, Leiden, The Nethelands.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't