DNA methylation patterns associated with konzo in Sub-Saharan Africa

Authors

Kristen Kocher, Department of Genomics and Precision Medicine, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, 20037, USA.
Surajit Bhattacharya, Department of Genetic Medicine Research, Children's Research Institute, Childrens National Hospital, Washington, DC, 20010, USA.
Matthew S. Bramble, Department of Genomics and Precision Medicine, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, 20037, USA.
Daniel Okitundu-Luwa, Department of Neurology, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Dieudonne Mumba Ngoyi, National Institute of Biomedical Research, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Desire Tshala-Katumbay, Department of Neurology, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Eric Vilain, Department of Genomics and Precision Medicine, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, 20037, USA. evilain@hs.uci.edu.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

12-19-2022

Journal

Clinical epigenetics

Volume

14

Issue

1

DOI

10.1186/s13148-022-01372-x

Keywords

Cassava; Cyanide; DNA methylation; Epigenetics; Konzo; Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Konzo, a disease characterized by sudden, irreversible spastic paraparesis, affecting up to 10% of the population in some regions of Sub-Saharan Africa during outbreaks, is strongly associated with dietary exposure to cyanogenic bitter cassava. The molecular mechanisms underlying the development of konzo remain largely unknown. Here, through an analysis of 16 individuals with konzo and matched healthy controls from the same outbreak zones, we identified 117 differentially methylated loci involved in numerous biological processes that may identify cyanogenic-sensitive regions of the genome, providing the first study of epigenomic alterations associated with a clinical phenotype of konzo.

APA Citation

Kocher, Kristen; Bhattacharya, Surajit; Bramble, Matthew S.; Okitundu-Luwa, Daniel; Ngoyi, Dieudonne Mumba; Tshala-Katumbay, Desire; and Vilain, Eric, "DNA methylation patterns associated with konzo in Sub-Saharan Africa" (2022). GW Authored Works. Paper 2076.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/2076

Department

Genomics and Precision Medicine