Characterization of whole-genome autosomal differences of DNA methylation between men and women.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Disease risk and incidence between males and females reveal differences, and sex is an important component of any investigation of the determinants of phenotypes or disease etiology. Further striking differences between men and women are known, for instance, at the metabolic level. The extent to which men and women vary at the level of the epigenome, however, is not well documented. DNA methylation is the best known epigenetic mechanism to date.

Results

In order to shed light on epigenetic differences, we compared autosomal DNA methylation levels between men and women in blood in a large prospective European cohort of 1799 subjects, and replicated our findings in three independent European cohorts. We identified and validated 1184 CpG sites to be differentially me

SUBMITTER: Singmann P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4615866 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature