Validation of a DNA methylation microarray for 450,000 CpG sites in the human genome

DNA methylation is the most studied epigenetic mark and CpG methylation is central to many biological processes and human diseases. Since cancer has highlighted the contribution to disease of aberrant DNA methylation patterns, such as the presence of promoter CpG island hypermethylation-associated silencing of tumor suppressor genes and global DNA hypomethylation defects, their importance will surely become apparent in other pathologies. However, advances in obtaining comprehensive DNA methylomes are hampered by the high cost and time-consuming aspects of the single nucleotide methods currently available for whole genome DNA methylation analyses. Following the success of the standard CpG methylation…