CCL2 promoter hypomethylation is associated with gout risk in Chinese Han male population

C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) encodes a chemokine which amplifies and maintains inflammation through chemokine-cytokine networks. Gout is a type of painful inflammation arthritis in response to the deposition of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals in joints. The purpose of this study was to figure out the role of CCL2 promoter methylation in gout.

A quantitative methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (qMSP) was used to measure CCL2 promoter methylation in 93 gout patients and 101 healthy controls, respectively. All participants were Chinese Han males. The percent of methylated reference (PMR) was used to evaluate methylation level of each sample.

In the current study, we have found that CCL2 promoter methylation was significantly lower in gout than in healthy controls (24.95% versus 42.68%, P<0.001). CCL2 promoter hypermethylation was considered as a risk factor of gout [OR (95% CI)=3.59E-04 (5.67E-06, 0.023), P=1.79E-04]. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed there was a significant diagnostic value of CCL2 hypomethylation for gout (AUC=0.763, 95% CI=0.695-0.830, sensitivity=0.644, specificity=0.849).

CCL2 promoter hypomethylation in peripheral blood could be a potential biomarker for the diagnosis of gout in Chinese Han males.