title: DNA methylation of the TNF-α promoter region in peripheral blood monocytes and the cortex of human Alzheimer's disease patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) is elevated in the blood of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Epigenetic DNA modifications of the TNF-α promoter may account for the observed upregulation.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed blood samples of 50 AD patients and 55 controls plus 4 AD and 4 control cortex samples using bisulfite sequencing PCR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A significant hypomethylation of the TNF-α promoter was found in AD patients' brains but not in their blood. Cortical TNF-α promoter DNA was higher methylated than blood-derived DNA, both in AD patients and controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In AD patients, epigenetic mechanisms of TNF-α gene regulation, like aberrant DNA methylation, are not relevant in blood.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kaut
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ramirez
authors.forename: Heike
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pieper
authors.forename: Ina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Schmitt
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jessen
authors.forename: Ullrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Wüllner
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D019175:DNA Methylation; D057890:Epigenomics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009000:Monocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha