Analysis of methylation status of the promoter of the IRF2 gene, a candidate gene for psoriasis

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The interferon regulatory factor 2 gene is a strong candidate gene for type 2 psoriasis, because of the localization of the gene to chromosome 4q35, and the function of the protein to negatively regulate the secretion of interferon alpha and beta. The methylation of the promoter alters the expression of the gene and has been implicated as the cause for aging and cancer. The methylation status of the interferon regulatory factor 2 was investigated in DNA of peripheral leukocytes with type 2 psoriasis. Genomic DNAs of ten cases with old psoriasis were bisulfated. The promoter region of the IRF2 gene was PCR-amplified and cloned to TA cloning vector and sequenced. Approximately 20 clones were sequenced with each subject. However, it was demonstrated that the promoter of the IRF2 gene was not methylated in type 2 psoriasis. The proportion of the methylated CpG was about 0.5%. Thus, it was suggested that the methylation of the promoter of IRF2 gene was not associated with type 2 psoriasis.