Journal article
Going back to the future with Guthrie-powered epigenome-wide association studies
MN Cruickshank, J Pitt, JM Craig
Genome Medicine | Published : 2012
DOI: 10.1186/gm384
Abstract
Epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) can be used to investigate links between early life environment, epigenetics and disease. However, such studies raise the question of which came first: the mark or the malady? A recent study has demonstrated that EWAS can be performed on neonatal 'Guthrie' heel-prick blood spots. As Guthrie cards are collected from all newborn infants and stored indefinitely in many countries, they represent an important timepoint to compare with later disease-associated epigenetic marks. © 2012 BioMed Central Ltd.
Grants
Funding Acknowledgements
We thank Dr David Godler for providing access to his manuscript in press, Dr Rony Duncan and Ms Leah Morenos for critical review of the manuscript, the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute for funding and the Victorian Government's Operational Infrastructure Support Program.