title: Catechol-O-methyltransferase promoter hypomethylation is associated with the risk of coronary heart disease.
abstract: Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene variation is known to be associated with the risk of acute coronary events. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the contribution of COMT promoter methylation towards the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). COMT methylation was evaluated in 48 CHD cases and 48 well-matched non-CHD controls using bisulfite pyrosequencing technology. The results demonstrated that CHD cases had a significantly lower level of methylation at COMT CpG3 sites compared with the controls (33.77±5.71 vs. 36.42±5.00%; P=0.018). Further analysis, according to gender, showed that CpG3 methylation was associated with CHD in males (P=0.038) but not in females (P=0.253), suggesting that there is a gender disparity in the association between COMT methylation and CHD. In conclusion, it was determined that COMT CpG3 hypomethylation is associated with an increased risk of CHD in males.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315010, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jinyan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: Medical Genetics Center, School of Medicine, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315211, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaoying
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315010, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Ningbo Seventh Hospital, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315202, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Caijie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315010, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hanbin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315010, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Weiping
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315010, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhaoxia
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315010, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Mingjun
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315010, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Junsong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315010, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Shaoyi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315010, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lulu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315010, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315010, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaomin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Medical Genetics Center, School of Medicine, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315211, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Shiwei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Duan
keywords: DNA methylation; catechol-O-methyltransferase; coronary heart disease; male; promoter