Abstract

Objective:
This study aimed to assess the genome-wide DNA methylation profile associated with atherosclerotic disease and to identify differentially methylated sites associated with clinical features of plaque instability.
Methods:
Using silico analysis, four publicly available 850K and 450K methylation array datasets were analyzed to identify consistently differentially methylated positions in atherosclerosis. Based on the highest methylation difference (top 20%) and significance (p-value ≤0.001), differentially methylated positions were specified.
Results:
By analyzing four publicly available methylation datasets, 506 differentially methylated genes linked to atherosclerosis were detected. Moreover, a comparative analysis between all the datasets determined four shared differentially methylated genes in only two datasets: ODF2, MTRF1L, HMCN1, and GMDS. However, further analysis revealed that only one gene, which is ODF2, exhibited a significant increase in methylation levels within the promoter area, while the others were insignificant.
Conclusion:
While further validation is required, this study provided a comprehensive methylation profile in atherosclerotic patients and highlighted the novel identification of ODF2 hypomethylation as a potential biomarker for plaque instability.

Key words: Atherosclerosis, genes, DNA methylation, promoter area, stroke