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Updated: May 10, 2026

Sample Preparation to Bioinformatics Analysis of DNA Methylation: Association Strategy for Obesity and Related Trait Studies
Published on: May 6, 2022
Association between birth weight and DNA methylation of IGF2, glucocorticoid receptor and repetitive elements LINE-1
Heather H Burris1, Joe M Braun, Hyang-Min Byun
1Department of Neonatology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center & Division of Newborn Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. heburris@bidmc.harvard.edu
Aim:
We examined the association between birth weight and methylation in the imprinted IGF/H19 loci, the nonimprinted gene NR3C1 and repetitive element DNA (LINE-1 and Alu).
Materials & Methods:
We collected umbilical cord venous blood from 219 infants born in Mexico City (Mexico) as part of a prospective birth cohort study and analyzed DNA methylation using pyrosequencing.
Results:
Birth weight was not associated with DNA methylation of the regions studied. One of the CpG dinucleotides in the IGF2 imprinting control region (ICR)1 includes a potential C-T SNP. Among individuals with an absence of methylation at this site, probably due to a paternally inherited T allele, birth weight was associated with mean methylation status of both IGF2 ICR1 and ICR2. However, this association would not have survived adjustment for multiple testing.
Conclusion:
While we did not detect an association between DNA methylation and birth weight, our study suggests a potential gene-epigene interaction between a T allele in the IGF2 ICR1 and methylation of ICRs of IGF2, and fetal growth.
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