[Analysis of co-segregation of methylation pattern and gene ontology among pedigrees affected with neural tube defects].

Objective: To explore the characteristics of differentially methylated genes and gene ontology associated with neural tube defects (NTDs).
Methods: Twelve subjects from 3 NTDs pedigrees were enrolled. Patients with NTDs have served as the case group, while their family members with normal phenotypes have served as the control group. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral venous blood samples of the families and used for DNA methylation analysis. Pairwise comparison was carried out primarily for patient-offspring pairs, and co-segregation of methylation pattern with NTDs was analyzed. Pathway related to differentially methylated genes was predicted with DAVID software.
Results: Pairwise comparison indicated that VTRNA2-1 was the only gene in which all CpG sites were methylated. Co-segregation of VTRNA2-1 gene methylation with NTDs was found in all pedigrees. Pathways of hypermethylated genes included plasma membrane component, regulation of cellular protein metabolic process, and regulation of actin cytoskeleton organization, while the pathways of hypomethylated genes have included transcription regulator activity, cell adhesion, and neuronal differentiation.
Conclusion: Methylation of the VTRNA2-1 gene has co-segregated with NTDs in the studied pedigrees. The pathways of differentially methylated genes has involved with mechanism of neural tube development.