Affiliations 

  • 1 Centre for Biodiversity Research, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Bandar Barat, 31900 Kampar, Perak, Malaysia ; Department of Biological Science, Faculty of Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Bandar Barat, 31900 Kampar, Perak, Malaysia ; Genomics Research Centre, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove, QLD 4059, Australia ; Human Genome Centre, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia
  • 2 Genomics Research Centre, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove, QLD 4059, Australia
  • 3 Human Genome Centre, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia
Biomed Res Int, 2015;2015:167976.
PMID: 25705649 DOI: 10.1155/2015/167976

Abstract

Stroke is a multifactorial disease that may be associated with aberrant DNA methylation profiles. We investigated epigenetic dysregulation for the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene among ischemic stroke patients. Cases and controls were recruited after obtaining signed written informed consents following a screening process against the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Serum vitamin profiles (folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine) were determined using immunoassays. Methylation profiles for CpGs A and B in the MTHFR gene were determined using a bisulfite-pyrosequencing method. Methylation of MTHFR significantly increased the susceptibility risk for ischemic stroke. In particular, CpG A outperformed CpG B in mediating serum folate and vitamin B12 levels to increase ischemic stroke susceptibility risks by 4.73-fold. However, both CpGs A and B were not associated with serum homocysteine levels or ischemic stroke severity. CpG A is a potential epigenetic marker in mediating serum folate and vitamin B12 to contribute to ischemic stroke.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.