Methylation Status of VTRNA2-1/nc886 Is Stable Across Populations, Monozygotic Twin Pairs and in Majority of Tissues 

Abstract

Aims & Methods

The aim of this study was to characterize the methylation level of a polymorphically imprinted gene, VTRNA2-1/nc886, in human populations and somatic tissues.48 datasets, consisting of more than 30 tissues and >30,000 individuals, were used.

Results

nc886 methylation status is associated with twin status and ethnic background, but the variation between populations is limited. Monozygotic twin pairs present concordant methylation, whereas ∼30% of dizygotic twin pairs present discordant methylation in the nc886 locus. The methylation levels of nc886 are uniform across somatic tissues, except in cerebellum and skeletal muscle.

Conclusion

The nc886 imprint may be established in the oocyte, and, after implantation, the methylation status is stable, excluding a few specific tissues. 

Full text (futuremedicine.com)

Authors

Saara Marttila, Hely Tamminen, Sonja Rajić, Pashupati P Mishra, Terho Lehtimäki, Olli Raitakari, Mika Kähönen, Laura Kananen, Juulia Jylhävä, Sara Hägg, Thomas Delerue, Annette Peters, Melanie Waldenberger, Marcus E Kleber, Winfried März, Riitta Luoto, Jani Raitanen, Elina Sillanpää, Eija K Laakkonen, Aino Heikkinen, Miina Ollikainen, Emma Raitoharju

Additional Information

• Peer-Reviewed: yes.
• Open access: yes.
• Cite as: Marttila, S., Tamminen, H., Rajić, S., Mishra, P. P., Lehtimäki, T., Raitakari, O., Kähönen, M., Kananen, L., Jylhävä, J., Hägg, S., Delerue, T., Peters, A., Waldenberger, M., Kleber, M. E., März, W., Luoto, R., Raitanen, J., Sillanpää, E., Laakkonen, E. K., Heikkinen, A., … Raitoharju, E. (2022). Methylation status of VTRNA2-1/nc886 is stable across populations, monozygotic twin pairs and in majority of tissues. Epigenomics, 14(18), 1105–1124. https://doi.org/10.2217/epi-2022-0228