Methylation Status of Alu and LINE-1 Interspersed Repetitive Sequences in Behcet's Disease Patients.
Behcet's Disease (BD) is a multisystem chronic inflammatory disease. The pathology is believed to involve both genetic susceptibility and environmental factors. Hypomethylation leading to activation of interspersed repetitive sequences (IRSs) such as LINE-1 and Alu contributes to the pathologies of autoimmune diseases and cancer. Herein, the epigenetic changes of IRSs in BD were evaluated using combined bisulfite restriction analysis-interspersed repetitive sequences (COBRA-IRS). DNA from neutrophils and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of BD patients with ocular involvement that were in active or inactive states and healthy controls were used to analyze LINE-1 and Alu methylation levels. For Alu sequences, significant differences were observed in the frequency of (u)C(u)C alleles between PBMCs of patients and controls (p = 0.03), and between inactive patients and controls (p = 0.03). For neutrophils, the frequency of (u)C(u)C was significantly higher between patients and controls (p = 0.006) and between inactive patients and controls (p = 0.002). The partial methylation ((u)C(m)C + (m)C(u)C) frequencies of Alu between inactive patients and control samples also differed (p = 0.02). No statistically significant differences for LINE-1 were detected. Thus, changes in the methylation level of IRS elements might contribute to the pathogenesis of BD. The role of Alu transcripts in BD should be investigated further.
Center of Excellence in Immunology and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
Şahru
Ş
Yüksel
Ankara Education and Research Hospital, Altindag, 06340 Ankara, Turkey.
Selma Ozbek
SO
Kucukazman
Ankara Education and Research Hospital, Altindag, 06340 Ankara, Turkey.
Gülten Sungur
GS
Karataş
Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Yenimahalle, 06560 Ankara, Turkey.
Mehmet Akif
MA
Ozturk
Center of Excellence in Immunology and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
Sasiprapa
S
Prombhul
Center of Excellence in Immunology and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
Nattiya
N
Hirankarn
D000328:Adult; D020087:Alu Elements / Q000235:genetics*; D001528:Behcet Syndrome / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D019175:DNA Methylation / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020071:Interspersed Repetitive Sequences / Q000235:genetics*; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000378:metabolism; D020084:Long Interspersed Nucleotide Elements / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult
D004247:DNA