AUTHOR=Zhang Huan , Wang Aili , Xu Tan , Mo Xingbo , Zhang Yonghong TITLE=Promoter DNA Methylation in GWAS-Identified Genes as Potential Functional Elements for Blood Pressure: An Observational and Mendelian Randomization Study JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics VOLUME=12 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2021.791146 DOI=10.3389/fgene.2021.791146 ISSN=1664-8021 ABSTRACT=
Genome-wide association studies have identified numerous genetic loci for blood pressure (BP). However, the relationships of functional elements inside these loci with BP are not fully understood. This study represented an effort to determine if promoter DNA methylations inside BP-associated loci were associated with BP.We conducted a cross-sectional study investigating the association between promoter DNA methylations of 10 candidate genes and BP in 1,241 Chinese individuals. Twenty-one genomic fragments in the CpG Islands were sequenced. The associations of methylation levels with BP and hypertension were assessed in regression models. Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was then applied to find supporting evidence for the identified associations.A total of 413 DNA methylation sites were examined in an observational study. Methylation levels of 24 sites in