Differences in DNA methylation between human neuronal and glial cells are concentrated in enhancers and non-CpG sites.

ABSTRACT: We applied Illumina Human Methylation450K array to perform a genomic-scale single-site resolution DNA methylation analysis in neuronal and nonneuronal (primarily glial) nuclei separated from the orbitofrontal cortex of postmortem human brain. The findings were validated using enhanced reduced representation bisulfite sequencing. We identified thousands of sites differentially methylated (DM) between neuronal and nonneuronal cells. The DM sites were depleted within CpG-island-containing promoters but enriched in predicted enhancers. Classification of the DM sites into those undermethylated in neurons (neuronal type) and those undermethylated in nonneuronal cells (glial type), combined with findings of others that methylation within control elements typically negatively correlates with gene

SUBMITTER: Kozlenkov A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3874157 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature