Epigenome-wide meta-analysis of DNA methylation differences in prefrontal cortex implicates the immune processes in Alzheimer's disease.
meta_analysis · Level I
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 33257653.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-19791-w and PMC identifier 7704686.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
DNA methylation differences in Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been reported. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis of more than 1000 prefrontal cortex brain samples to prioritize the most consistent methylation differences in multiple cohorts. Using a uniform analysis pipeline, we identified 3751 CpGs and 119 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) significantly associated with Braak stage. Our analysis identified differentially methylated genes such as MAMSTR, AGAP2, and AZU1. The most significant DMR identified is located on the MAMSTR gene, which encodes a cofactor that stimulates MEF2C. Notably, MEF2C cooperates with another transcription factor, PU.1, a central hub in the AD gene network. Our enrichment analysis highlighted the potential roles of the immune system and polycomb repressive complex 2 in pathological AD. These results may help facilitate future mechanistic and biomarker discovery studies in AD.
Medical subject headings
- Alzheimer Disease
- DNA Methylation
- Epigenesis, Genetic
- Immunity
- Prefrontal Cortex