Identification and systematic annotation of tissue-specific differentially methylated regions using the Illumina 450k array.

ABSTRACT:

Background

DNA methylation has been recognized as a key mechanism in cell differentiation. Various studies have compared tissues to characterize epigenetically regulated genomic regions, but due to differences in study design and focus there still is no consensus as to the annotation of genomic regions predominantly involved in tissue-specific methylation. We used a new algorithm to identify and annotate tissue-specific differentially methylated regions (tDMRs) from Illumina 450k chip data for four peripheral tissues (blood, saliva, buccal swabs and hair follicles) and six internal tissues (liver, muscle, pancreas, subcutaneous fat, omentum and spleen with matched blood samples).

Results

The majority of tDMRs, in both relative and absolute terms, occurred in CpG-poor regions

SUBMITTER: Slieker RC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3750594 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature