Within-pair differences of DNA methylation levels between monozygotic twins are different between male and female pairs

BACKGROUND: DNA methylation levels will be important for detection of epigenetic effects. However, there are few reports showing sex-related differences in the sensitivity to DNA methylation. To evaluate their sex-related individual differences in the sensitivity to methylation rigorously, we performed a systematic analysis of DNA methylation in monozygotic twins, an optimal model to evaluate them because the genetic backgrounds are the same. RESULTS: We examined 30 male and 43 female older monozygotic twin pairs recruited from the registry established by the Center for Twin Research, Osaka University. Their methylation levels were determined using the Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip Kit (Illumina), which interrogated 485577 highly informative CpG sites at the single-nucleotide resolution, and the median methylation level was calculated for each of the 25657 CpG islands. Within-pair differences of methylation levels (WPDMs) were greater in male pairs than female pairs for 86.0 % of autosomal CpG islands, but were higher in female pairs than male pairs for 76.7 % of X chromosomal CpG islands. Mean WPDMs of CpG islands in each autosomal chromosome were significantly higher in male pairs than in female whereas that in X chromosome was significantly higher in female pairs than in male. Multiple comparison indicated that WPDMs in three autosomal and two X-chromosomal CpG islands were significantly greater in male pairs, whereas those in 22 X-chromosomal CpG islands were significantly greater in female pairs. CONCLUSION: Sex-related differences were present in the WPDMs of CpG islands in individuals with the same genetic background. These differences may be associated with the sexual influences in susceptibility of some diseases. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12920-016-0217-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.