Premium
Methylation profiles in peripheral blood CD4+ lymphocytes versus brain: The relation to Alzheimer's disease pathology
Author(s) -
Yu Lei,
Chibnik Lori B.,
Yang Jingyun,
McCabe Cristin,
Xu Jishu,
Schneider Julie A.,
De Jager Philip L.,
Bennett David A.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2016.02.009
Subject(s) - methylation , dna methylation , neocortex , cpg site , biology , dorsolateral prefrontal cortex , pathology , peripheral blood , prefrontal cortex , immunology , medicine , neuroscience , genetics , dna , gene , gene expression , cognition
We investigated the change in DNA methylation in peripheral blood CD4+ lymphocytes over time, examined the relation between CD4+ lymphocytes and brain methylation, and compared their associations with AD pathology. Methods Genome‐wide methylation was measured three times in 41 older persons using Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450 array. The two CD4+ lymphocytes measures were at study baseline and proximate to death. Brain tissue came from frozen dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Results Global methylation features were conserved across tissue. At individual CpG sites, methylation level was concordant between the two CD4+ lymphocytes but more diffuse between CD4+ lymphocytes and brain. Previous associations of brain methylation with neuritic plaques at target methylation sites were not replicated in CD4+ lymphocytes. Discussion There is no strong evidence of change in CD4+ lymphocytes methylation among older persons over an average of 7.5 years. Methylation associations with AD pathology found in neocortex are not directly reflected in CD4+ lymphocytes.