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

干扰素调节因子2基因是2型牛皮癣的一个强有力的候选基因，因为该基因定位于染色体4q35，并且该蛋白的功能是负调控干扰素α和β的分泌。启动子的甲基化改变了基因的表达，并被认为是衰老和癌症的原因。研究了2型银屑病外周血白细胞DNA中干扰素调节因子2的甲基化状态。对10例陈旧性银屑病患者的基因组dna进行了硫酸盐化处理。将IRF2基因启动子区进行pcr扩增，克隆到TA克隆载体上并测序。每个受试者大约有20个克隆被测序。然而，研究表明，IRF2基因的启动子在2型牛皮癣中没有甲基化。甲基化CpG的比例约为0.5%。因此，我们认为IRF2基因启动子的甲基化与2型牛皮癣无关。

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.