Analysis of blood-cell from 3,688 individuals of the Gutenberg Health Study (GHS) and MyoVasc cohorts was performed to assess DNA-methylation (767,735 CpG sites) in carotid, coronary and peripheral atherosclerosis. Epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) found variation associated with atherosclerosis and cardiovascular risk factors [1]. Methylation profiles were generated in one cohort and evaluated for predictivity in the other associating CpG sites to carotid, coronary and peripheral atherosclerosis. More than 90% of these sites were also associated with risk factors, mostly smoking, less by inflammation and metabolic.
In an analysis of blood cells from 2,155 individuals of the MyoVasc and GHS cohorts was performed to examine DNA-methylation (866,554 CpG sites) and epigenetic aging in heart failure (HF) [2]. HF was associated with a global decrease in methylation across all phenotypes and n average epigenetic age increase of 19 years. The degree of demethylation correlated with syndrome severity and epigenetic clocks predicted worsening HF and mortality. Methylation differences with HF were higher in transcription start sites, while CpG island methylation was not altered.
References
[1] Ingold, M., C. Müller, M. Krolevets, E. Yapici, S. Rapp, A.K. Schuster, J. Tesarz, I. Heinrich, J. Weinmann-Menke, K. Strauch, K.J. Lackner, S. Konstantinides, GHS Research Consortium, W. Ruf, M.A. Andrade-Navarro, C. Niehrs, T. Gori, P. Lurz, P.S. Wild and V. ten Cate. 2026. Blood DNA methylation patterns across carotid, coronary, and peripheral atherosclerosis: a comparative analysis in two prospective cohorts. J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. In press.
[2] Krolevets, M., V. ten Cate, J.H. Prochaska, A. Schulz, S. Rapp, S. Tenzer, M.A. Andrade-Navarro. A. Lu, K. Strauch, A.K. Schuster, M.E. Beutel, I. Heinrich, J. Weinmann-Menke, K.J. Lackner, P. Lurz, S. Horvath, C. Niehrs and P.S. Wild. 2026. Global and regional DNA methylation patterns in heart failure: a case-control analysis. EBioMedicine. In press.