Wong, CCY and Meaburn, EL and Ronald, A and Price, TS and Jeffries, AR and Schalkwyk, LC and Plomin, R and Mill, J (2014) 'Methylomic analysis of monozygotic twins discordant for autism spectrum disorder and related behavioural traits.' Molecular Psychiatry, 19 (4). 495 - 503. ISSN 1359-4184

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Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) defines a group of common, complex neurodevelopmental disorders. Although the aetiology of ASD has a strong genetic component, there is considerable monozygotic (MZ) twin discordance indicating a role for non-genetic factors. Because MZ twins share an identical DNA sequence, disease-discordant MZ twin pairs provide an ideal model for examining the contribution of environmentally driven epigenetic factors in disease. We performed a genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation in a sample of 50 MZ twin pairs (100 individuals) sampled from a representative population cohort that included twins discordant and concordant for ASD, ASD-associated traits and no autistic phenotype. Within-twin and between-group analyses identified numerous differentially methylated regions associated with ASD. In addition, we report significant correlations between DNA methylation and quantitatively measured autistic trait scores across our sample cohort. This study represents the first systematic epigenomic analyses of MZ twins discordant for ASD and implicates a role for altered DNA methylation in autism. © 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	Q Science > QH Natural history > QH426 Genetics
Divisions:	Faculty of Science and Health > Biological Sciences, School of
Depositing User:	Jim Jamieson
Date Deposited:	23 Oct 2014 10:05
Last Modified:	26 Jun 2018 10:15
URI:	http://repository.essex.ac.uk/id/eprint/11123

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