Differences in methylation patterns in the methylation boundary region of IDS gene in Hunter syndrome patients: implications for CpG hot spot mutations

Eur J Hum Genet. 2006 Jul;14(7):838-45. doi: 10.1038/sj.ejhg.5201615. Epub 2006 Apr 12.

Abstract

Hunter syndrome, an X-linked disorder, results from deficiency of iduronate-2-sulfatase (IDS). Around 40% of independent point mutations at IDS were found at CpG sites as transitional events. The 15 CpG sites in the coding sequences of exons 1 and 2, which are normally hypomethylated, account for very few of transitional mutations. By contrast, the CpG sites in the coding sequences of exon 3, though also normally hypomethylated, account for much higher fraction of transitional mutations. To better understand relationship between methylation status and CpG transitional mutations in this region, the methylation patterns of 11 Hunter patients with transitional mutations at CpG sites were investigated using bisulfite genomic sequencing. The patient cohort mutation spectrum is composed of one mutation in exon 1 (one patient) and three different mutations in exon 3 (10 patients). We confirmed that in normal males, cytosines at the CpG sites from the promoter region to a portion of intron 3 were hypomethylated. However, specific CpG sites in this area were more highly methylated in patients. The patients with p.R8X (exon 1), p.P86L (exon 3), and p.R88H (exon 3) mutations had a hypermethylated condition in exon 2 to intron 3 but retained hypomethylation in exon 1. The same trend was found in four patients with p.A85T (exon 3), although the degree of hypermethylation was less. These findings suggest methylation patterns in the beginning of IDS genomic region are polymorphic in humans and that hypermethylation in this region in some individuals predisposes them to CpG mutations resulting in Hunter syndrome.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • CpG Islands / genetics*
  • DNA Methylation*
  • Exons / genetics
  • Glycoproteins / genetics*
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Male
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mucopolysaccharidosis II / genetics*
  • Point Mutation / genetics
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA

Substances

  • Glycoproteins
  • IDS protein, human