An epigenome-wide association study in the case-control study to explore early development identifies differential DNA methylation near ZFP57 as associated with autistic traits.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Quantitative measures of autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-related traits can provide insight into trait presentation across the population. Previous studies have identified epigenomic variation associated with ASD diagnosis, but few have evaluated quantitative traits. We sought to identify DNA methylation patterns in child blood associated with Social Responsiveness Scale score, Second Edition (SRS).

Methods

We conducted an epigenome-wide association study of SRS in child blood at approximately age 5 in the Study to Explore Early Development, a case-control study of ASD in the United States. We measured DNA methylation using the Illumina 450K array with 857 samples in our analysis after quality control. We performed regression of the M-value to identify single sites

SUBMITTER: Howerton EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12357374 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature