Background: Drawing the epigenome landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) still remains a challenge. To characterize the epigenetic molecular basis of the human hippocampus in AD, we profiled genome-wide DNA methylation levels in hippocampal samples from a cohort of pure AD patients and controls by using the Illumina 450K methylation arrays. Results: Up to 118 AD-related differentially methylated positions (DMPs) were identified in the AD hippocampus, and extended mapping of specific regions was obtained by bisulfite cloning sequencing. AD-related DMPs were significantly correlated with phosphorylated tau burden. Functional analysis highlighted that AD-related DMPs were enriched in poised promoters that were not generally maintained in committed neural progenitor cells, as shown by ChiP-qPCR experiments. Interestingly, AD-related DMPs preferentially involved neurodevelopmental and neurogenesis-related genes. Finally, InterPro ontology analysis revealed enrichment in homeobox-containing transcription factors in the set of AD-related DMPs. Conclusions: These results suggest that altered DNA methylation in the AD hippocampus occurs at specific regulatory regions crucial for neural differentiation supporting the notion that adult hippocampal neurogenesis may play a role in AD through epigenetic mechanisms. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]
CITATION STYLE
Altuna, M., Urdánoz-Casado, A., Sánchez-Ruiz De Gordoa, J., Zelaya, M. V., Labarga, A., Lepesant, J. M. J., … Mendioroz, M. (2019). DNA methylation signature of human hippocampus in Alzheimer’s disease is linked to neurogenesis. Clinical Epigenetics, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13148-019-0672-7
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