Cross-tissue comparisons of leptin and adiponectin: DNA methylation profiles

DNA methylation has been mostly studied in circulating blood cells. Although being readily accessible, metabolically active tissues such as adipose tissue would be more informative for the study of metabolic disorders. However, whether or not the blood DNA methylation profile correlates with that of adipose tissue remains unknown. In this study, DNA methylation patterns of variation at LEP and ADIPOQ gene loci were similar between individual CpGs across the different tissues. We also report that DNA methylation levels at biologically relevant CpGs are correlated between blood, subcutaneous, and visceral adipose tissue, and that these nearby CpGs are associated with LEP and ADIPOQ gene expression in adipose tissues. These results will be highly relevant for future epigenetic studies in metabolic disorders.