Aberrant DNA methylation of GATA binding protein 3 (GATA3), interleukin-4 (IL-4), and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) promoters in Behcet's disease.

The pathogenesis of Behcet's disease (BD) remains poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether an aberrant DNA methylation of transcriptional and inflammatory factors, including and , in CD4T confers risk to BD. We found that the promoter methylation level of and was significantly up-regulated in active BD patients and negatively correlated with the corresponding mRNA expression. The mRNA expression of and was markedly down-regulated in active BD patients compared to healthy individuals. Treatment with corticosteroids and cyclosporine (CsA) resulted in a decrease of the methylation level of and in inactive BD patients. Our results suggest that an aberrant DNA methylation of and is associated with their mRNA expression and participates in the pathogenesis of BD.