A Potential Epigenetic Marker Mediating Serum Folate andudVitamin B12 Levels Contributes to the Risk of Ischemic Stroke

摘要

Stroke is a multifactorial disease that may be associated with aberrant DNA methylation profiles. We investigated epigeneticuddysregulation for themethylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene among ischemic stroke patients. Cases and controls wereudrecruited after obtaining signed written informed consents following a screening process against the inclusion/exclusion criteria.udSerum vitamin profiles (folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine) were determined using immunoassays. Methylation profiles forudCpGs A and B in the MTHFR gene were determined using a bisulfite-pyrosequencingmethod.Methylation of MTHFR significantlyudincreased the susceptibility risk for ischemic stroke. In particular, CpG A outperformed CpG B in mediating serum folate andudvitamin B12 levels to increase ischemic stroke susceptibility risks by 4.73-fold. However, both CpGs A and B were not associatedudwith serum homocysteine levels or ischemic stroke severity. CpG A is a potential epigenetic marker in mediating serum folate andudvitamin B12 to contribute to ischemic stroke.