Epigenome-850K-wide profiling reveals peripheral blood differential methylation in term low birth weight

Aim: We investigate the genome-wide DNA methylation (DNAm) patterns of term low birth weight (TLBW) neonates.Methods: In the discovery phase, we assayed 32 samples (TLBW/control:16/16) using the EPIC 850k BeadChip Array. Targeted pyrosequencing of in 60 samples (TLBW/control:28/32) using targeted pyrosequencing during the replication phase.Results: The 850K array identified TLBW-associated 144 differentially methylated positions (DMPs) and 149 DMRs. Nearly 77% DMPs exhibited hypomethylation, located in the opensea and gene body regions. The most significantly enriched pathway in KEGG is sphingolipid metabolism (hsa00600), and the genes GALC and SGMS1 related to this pathway both show hypomethylation.Conclusion: Our analysis provides evidence of genome-wide DNAm alterations in TLBW. Further investigations are needed to elucidate the functional significance of these DNAm changes.