Project description:Epigenetic misregulation is consistent with the various non-Mendelian features of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and may even play an etiological role in the disease. We performed DNA modification profiling of post-mortem brain samples from twins who differed for age of AD onset and buccal samples from twins who were discordant for AD at the time of sample collection. We performed DNA methylome analysis on frontal cortex, cerebellum, or buccal tissues from monozygotic twins and dizygotic twins discordant for Alzheimerâs disease (AD) or disease age of onset. DNA samples were enriched for unmodified fraction of the genome using DNA-modification sensitive restriction enzyme digestion followed by adaptor-mediated PCR. The enriched fractions were labelled with a fluorescent dye (Cy3) and hybridized onto the array with a common reference pool (Cy5).
Project description:Using the Infinium HM450 platform, we have performed a longitudinal study of DNA methylation at birth and age 18 months in DNA from buccal swabs from 10 monozygotic (MZ) and 5 dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs from the Peri/postnatal Epigenetic Twins Study (PETS) cohort.
Project description:This project contains genome-wide DNA methylation data generated using the HumanMethylation450 BeadChip (Illumina), for 79 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) discordant monozygotic twin pairs. By investigating disease discordant monozygotic twins, DNA methylation can be assessed without the confounding influence of genetic heterogeneity which often affects case-control epigenome-wide association studies of common diseases. Twins were recruited from two cohorts; Arthritis Research UK in Manchester and TwinsUK in London.
Project description:The exploration of copy number variation (CNV), notably of somatic cells, is an understudied aspect of genome biology. Any differences in the genetic make-up between twins derived from the same zygote represent an extreme example of somatic variation. We studied 19 pairs of monozygotic twins with either concordant or discordant phenotype using two platforms for genome-wide CNV analyses and show that CNVs exist within pairs in both groups. These findings impact our views of genotypic and phenotypic diversity in monozygotic twins, and suggest that CNV analysis in phenotypically discordant monozygotic twins may provide a powerful tool in identifying disease predisposition loci. Our results also imply that caution should be exercised with the interpretation of disease causality of de novo CNVs found in patients based on analysis of a single tissue in routine disease-related DNA diagnostics Keywords: copy number variation, concordant and discordant monozygotic twins
Project description:The exploration of copy number variation (CNV), notably of somatic cells, is an understudied aspect of genome biology. Any differences in the genetic make-up between twins derived from the same zygote represent an extreme example of somatic variation. We studied 19 pairs of monozygotic twins with either concordant or discordant phenotype using two platforms for genome-wide CNV analyses and show that CNVs exist within pairs in both groups. These findings impact our views of genotypic and phenotypic diversity in monozygotic twins, and suggest that CNV analysis in phenotypically discordant monozygotic twins may provide a powerful tool in identifying disease predisposition loci. Our results also imply that caution should be exercised with the interpretation of disease causality of de novo CNVs found in patients based on analysis of a single tissue in routine disease-related DNA diagnostics Analysis of copy number variability in concordant healthy monozygotic twin pairs as well as three monozygostic twin pairs discordant a Parkinsons disease (PD) phenotype using the Illumina HumanHap 300 dead chips. Keywords: SNP data
Project description:Human intelligence demonstrates one of the highest heritabilities among human quantitative traits. Phenotypically discordant monozygotic twins provide a way to identify loci reponsible for the phenotypical differences. We performed comprehensive DNA methylation analysis in monozygotic twins manifesting differences in IQ scores. Genes with significantly different methylation status are considered as candidates related to human intelligence.