Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

ZFP57 is an important transcriptional regulator involved in DNA methylation and genomic imprinting during development. Here we demonstrate that gene expression also occurs at a low level in adult peripheral blood cells and other tissues including the kidney and thymus, but is critically dependent on underlying local genetic variation within the MHC. We resolve a highly significant expression quantitative trait locus for ZFP57 involving single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the first intron of the gene co-localizing with a DNase I hypersensitive site and evidence of CTCF recruitment. These data identify ZFP57 as a candidate gene underlying reported MHC disease associations, notably for putative regulatory variants associated with cancer and HIV-1. The work highlights the role that ZFP57 may play in DNA methylation and epigenetic regulation beyond early development into adult life dependent on genetic background, with important potential implications for disease.

Original publication

DOI

10.1038/ejhg.2013.244

Type

Journal article

Journal

Eur J Hum Genet

Publication Date

04/2014

Volume

22

Pages

568 - 571

Keywords

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Autoimmune Diseases, CCCTC-Binding Factor, Chromosome Mapping, DNA Methylation, Deoxyribonuclease I, Epigenesis, Genetic, Gene Expression Regulation, Genes, MHC Class I, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genome-Wide Association Study, Genomic Imprinting, Humans, Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors, Linkage Disequilibrium, Neoplasms, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Quantitative Trait Loci, Repressor Proteins, Zinc Fingers