Association of Body Mass Index with DNA Methylation and Gene Expression in Blood Cells and Relations to Cardiometabolic Disease: A Mendelian Randomization Approach.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The link between DNA methylation, obesity, and adiposity-related diseases in the general population remains uncertain.

Methods and findings

We conducted an association study of body mass index (BMI) and differential methylation for over 400,000 CpGs assayed by microarray in whole-blood-derived DNA from 3,743 participants in the Framingham Heart Study and the Lothian Birth Cohorts, with independent replication in three external cohorts of 4,055 participants. We examined variations in whole blood gene expression and conducted Mendelian randomization analyses to investigate the functional and clinical relevance of the findings. We identified novel and previously reported BMI-related differential methylation at 83 CpGs that replicated across cohorts; BMI-related diffe

SUBMITTER: Mendelson MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5240936 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature