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Published on: May 6, 2022
Quality control measures for placental sample purity in DNA methylation array analyses
Qianhui Wan1, Shalem Yiner-Lee Leemaqz1, Stephen Martin Pederson2
1Robinson Research Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia; Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
The purity of tissue samples can affect the accuracy and utility of DNA methylation array analyses. This is particularly important for the placenta which is globally hypomethylated compared to other tissues. Placental villous tissue from early pregnancy terminations can be difficult to separate from non-villous tissue, resulting in potentially inaccurate results. We used several methods to identify mixed placenta samples using DNA methylation array datasets from our laboratory and those contained in the NCBI GEO database, highlighting the importance of determining sample purity during quality control processes.
The purity of tissue samples can affect the accuracy and utility of DNA methylation array analyses. This is particularly important for the placenta which is globally hypomethylated compared to other tissues. Placental villous tissue from early pregnancy terminations can be difficult to separate from non-villous tissue, resulting in potentially inaccurate results. We used several methods to identify mixed placenta samples using DNA methylation array datasets from our laboratory and those contained in the NCBI GEO database, highlighting the importance of determining sample purity during quality control processes.

