Open AccessDifferential blood DNA methylation across Lewy body dementias
Author(s) -
Nasamran Chad A.,
Sachan Anubhav Nikunj Singh,
Mott Jennifer,
Kuras Yuliya I.,
Scherzer Clemens R.,
Study Harvard Biomarkers,
Ricciardelli Eugenia,
Jepsen Kristen,
Edland Steven D.,
Fisch Kathleen M.,
Desplats Paula
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia: diagnosis, assessment and disease monitoring
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.497
H-Index - 37
ISSN - 2352-8729
DOI - 10.1002/dad2.12156
Subject(s) - dementia with lewy bodies , dna methylation , methylation , lewy body , biomarker , epigenetics , differential diagnosis , dementia , medicine , pathology , biology , oncology , disease , genetics , dna , gene , gene expression
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD) are characterized by cognitive alterations, visual hallucinations, and motor impairment. Diagnosis is based on type and timing of clinical manifestations; however, determination of clinical subtypes is challenging. The utility of blood DNA methylation as a biomarker for Lewy body disorders (LBD) is mostly unexplored. Methods We performed a cross‐sectional analysis of blood methylation in 42 DLB and 50 PDD cases applying linear models to compare groups and logistic least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression to explore the discriminant power of methylation signals. Results DLB blood shows differential methylation compared to PDD. Some methylation changes associate with core features of LBD. Sets of probes show high predictive value to discriminate between variants. Discussion Our study is the first to explore LBD blood methylation. Despite overlapping clinical presentation, we detected differential epigenetic signatures that, if confirmed in independent cohorts, could be developed into useful biomarkers.