Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders Extra (Mar 2015)

Association between DNA Methylation of the BDNF Promoter Region and Clinical Presentation in Alzheimer's Disease

  • Tomoyuki Nagata,
  • Nobuyuki Kobayashi,
  • Jumpei Ishii,
  • Shunichiro Shinagawa,
  • Ritsuko Nakayama,
  • Nobuto Shibata,
  • Bolati Kuerban,
  • Tohru Ohnuma,
  • Kazuhiro Kondo,
  • Heii Arai,
  • Hisashi Yamada,
  • Kazuhiko Nakayama

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1159/000375367
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 5, no. 1
pp. 64 – 73

Abstract

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Background/Aims: In the present study, we examined whether DNA methylation of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) promoter is associated with the manifestation and clinical presentation of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods: Of 20 patients with AD and 20 age-matched normal controls (NCs), the DNA methylation of the BDNF promoter (measured using peripheral blood samples) was completely analyzed in 12 patients with AD and 6 NCs. The resulting methylation levels were compared statistically. Next, we investigated the correlation between the DNA methylation levels and the clinical presentation of AD. Results: The total methylation ratio (in %) of the 20 CpG sites was significantly higher in the AD patients (5.08 ± 5.52%) than in the NCs (2.09 ± 0.81%; p Conclusion: These results suggest that the DNA methylation of the BDNF promoter may significantly influence the manifestation of AD and might be associated with its neurocognitive presentation.

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