Correlation of gene modification between histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation and DNA methylation in IgA nephropathy patients

AIM: To investigate the correlation of gene modification between histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4) trimethylation and DNA methylation in IgA nephropathy patients. METHODS: H3K4 trimethylation variations were analyzed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 40 IgAN patients and 40 healthy controls by the method of chromatin immunoprecipitation linked to microarrays (ChIP-chip). ChIP real-time PCR was used to validate the microarray results. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was employed to analyze mRNA expression. DNA methylation in 4 selected positive genes was analyzed by the method of methylated DNA immunoprecipitation-quantitative PCR (MeDIP-qPCR). RESULTS: IgAN patients displayed higher H3K4 trimethylation level and lower DNA methylation level than those of the healthy controls. There were significant differences in DNA methylation and H3K4 trimethylation of 4 selected genes between IgAN patients and the healthy controls (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Our studies indicate that significant alterations of H3K4 trimethylation and DNA methylation exist in IgAN patients. There is a correlation of gene modification between DNA mathylation and histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation in IgAN patients.