Methylation Profiling RIN3 and MEF2C Identifies Epigenetic Marks Associated with Sporadic Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease. Boden, K., A., Barber, I., S., Clement, N., Patel, T., Guetta-Baranes, T., Brookes, K., J., Chappell, S., Craigon, J., Chapman, N., H., Morgan, K., Seymour, G., B., & Bottley, A. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease Reports, 1(1):97-108, IOS Press, 9, 2017.
Methylation Profiling RIN3 and MEF2C Identifies Epigenetic Marks Associated with Sporadic Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease [pdf]Paper  abstract   bibtex   
A number of genetic loci associate with early onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD); however, the drivers of this disease remains enigmatic. Genome wide association and in vivo modeling have shown that loss-of-function, e.g., ABCA7, reduced levels of SIRT1 and MEFF2C, or increased levels of PTK2␤ confer risk or link to the pathogenies. It is known that DNA methylation can profoundly affect gene expression and can impact on the composition of the proteome; therefore, the aim of this study is to assess if genes associated with sporadic EOAD (sEOAD) are differentially methylated. Epi-profiles of DNA extracted from blood and cortex were compared using a pyrosequencing platform. We identified significant group-wide hypomethylation in AD blood when compared to controls for 7 CpGs located within the 3'UTR of RIN3 (CpG1 p = 0.019, CpG2 p = 0.018, CpG3 p = 0.012, CpG4 p = 0.009, CpG5 p = 0.002, CpG6 p = 0.018, and CpG7 p = 0.013, respectively; AD/Control n = 22/26; Male/Female n = 27/21). Observed effects were not gender specific. No group wide significant differences were found in the promoter methylation of PTK2␤, ABCA7, SIRT1, or MEF2C, genes known to associate with late onset AD. A rare and significant difference in methylation was observed for one CpG located upstream of the MEF2C promoter in one AD individual only (22% reduction in methylation, p = 2.0E-10; Control n = 26, AD n = 25, Male/Female n = 29/22). It is plausible aberrant methylation may mark sEOAD in blood and may manifest in some individuals as rare epi-variants for genes linked to sEOAD.

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