title: The methylation patterns of a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 33 gene (ADAM33) in adult asthma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Asthma is a common chronic inflammatory respiratory disease. Previous studies have suggested that the pathogenesis of asthma may be affected by epigenetic regulation. The purpose of this study is to characterize the effect of the methylation of each CpG site in the ADAM33 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 33) gene in adult asthma.
  
  
  METHODS
  A human CpG island microarray was used to examine 4 asthmatic cases and 4 healthy controls, and the results suggested that there might be differences in methylation within exon 9 of the ADAM33 gene. Therefore, we designed a case-control study with 50 asthmatic patients and 50 age- and sex-matched healthy controls to examine the relationship between the CpG methylation of the ADAM33 gene and asthma using bisulfite deoxyribonucleic acid modification and sequencing.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Bisulfite sequencing experiments showed that the 14 CpG sites in exon 9 of the ADAM33 gene were highly methylated (100%) in all individuals. The proportions of methylation of the 14 CpG sites in ADAM33 in the case group were not different from those of the control group. The methylation of exon 9 of this locus was not associated with age, sex, IgE levels, or lung function. This study found no association between the methylation of CpG sites in exon 9 of the ADAM33 gene and adult asthma.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The 14 CpG sites were highly methylated in the case and control groups. Further investigation of exon 9 in ADAM33 in a larger population is needed to evaluate its role in asthma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, College of Health Science, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Pei-Jing
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Ruei-Nian
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Chi-Chih
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Tung-Heng
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ying-Chin
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: Ming-Shyan
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Tsu-Nai
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D051722:ADAM Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001249:Asthma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D018899:CpG Islands; D019175:DNA Methylation; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D051722:ADAM Proteins; C450441:ADAM33 protein, human