학술논문

Quantitative comparison of DNA methylation assays for biomarker development and clinical applications
Document Type
article
Source
Nature Biotechnology. 34(7)
Subject
Biological Sciences
Biomedical and Clinical Sciences
Clinical Sciences
Genetics
Algorithms
DNA
DNA Methylation
DNA Modification Methylases
Genetic Markers
High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
High-Throughput Screening Assays
Promoter Regions
Genetic
Reproducibility of Results
Sensitivity and Specificity
BLUEPRINT consortium
Language
Abstract
DNA methylation patterns are altered in numerous diseases and often correlate with clinically relevant information such as disease subtypes, prognosis and drug response. With suitable assays and after validation in large cohorts, such associations can be exploited for clinical diagnostics and personalized treatment decisions. Here we describe the results of a community-wide benchmarking study comparing the performance of all widely used methods for DNA methylation analysis that are compatible with routine clinical use. We shipped 32 reference samples to 18 laboratories in seven different countries. Researchers in those laboratories collectively contributed 21 locus-specific assays for an average of 27 predefined genomic regions, as well as six global assays. We evaluated assay sensitivity on low-input samples and assessed the assays' ability to discriminate between cell types. Good agreement was observed across all tested methods, with amplicon bisulfite sequencing and bisulfite pyrosequencing showing the best all-round performance. Our technology comparison can inform the selection, optimization and use of DNA methylation assays in large-scale validation studies, biomarker development and clinical diagnostics.