Journal article
The implications of heterogeneous DNA methylation for the accurate quantification of methylation
T Mikeska, ILM Candiloro, A Dobrovic
Epigenomics | Published : 2010
DOI: 10.2217/epi.10.32
Abstract
DNA methylation based biomarkers have considerable potential for molecular diagnostics, both as tumor specific biomarkers for the early detection or post-therapeutic monitoring of cancer as well as prognostic and predictive biomarkers for therapeutic stratification. Particularly in the former, the accurate estimation of DNA methylation is of compelling importance. However, quantification of DNA methylation has many traps for the unwary, especially when heterogeneous methylation comprising multiple alleles with varied DNA methylation patterns (epialleles) is present. The frequent occurrence of heterogeneous methylation as distinct from a simple mixture of fully methylated and unmethylated all..
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Funding Acknowledgements
Alexander Dobrovic is the coinventor of intellectual property on MS-HRM and SMART-MSP held by the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Australia) and the University of Aarhus (Denmark). We acknowledge the National Breast Cancer Foundation (Australia), the Cancer Council of Victoria, the Victorian Cancer Agency and the US Department of Defense for funding epigenetics projects which led directly to the consideration of the issues discussed in this manuscript. Views and opinions of and endorsements by the authors do not reflect those of the US Army or the US Department of Defense. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.