Liquid Biopsy in Alzheimer's Disease Patients Reveals Epigenetic Changes in the Gene.

In recent years, new DNA methylation variants have been reported in genes biologically relevant to Alzheimer's disease (AD) in human brain tissue. However, this AD-specific epigenetic information remains brain-locked and unreachable during patients' lifetimes. In a previous methylome performed in the hippocampus of 26 AD patients and 12 controls, we found higher methylation levels in AD patients in the promoter region of , a gene involved in energy balance regulation. Our aim was to further characterize 's role in AD and to evaluate if the liquid biopsy technique would provide life access to this brain information in a non-invasive way. First, we extended the methylation mapping of and validated previous methylome results via bisulfite cloning sequencing. Next, we observed a positive correlation between methylation levels and AD-related neuropathological changes and a decreased expression of in AD hippocampus. Then, we managed to replicate the hippocampal methylation differences in plasma cfDNA from an additional cohort of 35 AD patients and 35 controls. The isolation of cfDNA from the plasma of AD patients may constitute a source of potential epigenetic biomarkers to aid AD clinical management.