DNA Methylation Profile of Genes Involved in Inflammation and Autoimmunity in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The contribution of epigenetic alterations to disease pathogenesis is emerging as a research priority. In this study, we aimed to seek DNA methylation changes in peripheral blood and tissue biopsies from patients with inflammatory bowel disease. The promoter methylation status of genes involved in inflammation and autoimmunity was profiled using the Human Inflammatory Response and Autoimmunity EpiTect Methyl II Signature PCR Array profiles. Methylation was considered to be hypermethylated if >20% according to the instructions of the manufacturer. The microarrays were validated with Quantitative Real-time PCR. Regarding Crohn disease (CD) no gene appeared hypermethylated compared to healthy controls. In ulcerative colitis (UC) 5 genes (CXCL14, CXCL5, GATA3, IL17C, and IL4R) were hypermethylated compared to healthy controls. Some of the examined genes show different methylation patterns between CD and UC. Concerning tissue samples we found that all hypermethylated genes appear the same methylation pattern and confirmed a moderate–strong correlation between methylation levels in colon biopsies and peripheral blood (Pearson coefficients r = 0.089–0.779, and r = 0.023–0.353, respectively). The epigenetic changes observed in this study indicate that CD and UC exhibit specific DNA methylation signatures with potential clinical applications in IBD non-invasive diagnosis and prognosis.