The correlation between promoter methylation status and expression of KLF9 and MYH11 in Schizophrenia

Abstract In the current study, Methylation and expression microarray data related to Schizophrenia (SCZ) were analyzed to identify genes whose aberrant promoter methylation could play a crucial role in the dysregulation of gene expression. After data analysis, two genes including KLF9 and MYH11 were identified. Considering CpG sites in the promoter region of the mentioned genes using Methprimer database, Bisulfite specific primer (BSP) was designed, and Methylation specific-high resolution melting (MS-HRM) analysis was performed to assess the promoter methylation status of the genes, and also real-time PCR was used to evaluate mRNA expression level of KLF9 and MYH11 in 50 SCZ and healthy control specimens. The results show 62% hypermethylation and 38% hypomethylation of KLF9 in SCZ samples and 34% hypermethylation and 66% hypomethylation in healthy control samples. MYH11 promoter shows 54% hypermethylation and 46% hypomethylation in SCZ samples while 28% hypermethylation and 72% hypomethylation in healthy controls. The result of real-time PCR shows downregulation of KLF9 and MYH11 in SCZ samples compared with healthy samples. The aberrant methylation has a direct effect on the expression of mentioned genes.