Abstract
BACKGROUND: Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) plays a key role in dopamine and estrogen metabolism. Recently, COMT haplotypes rather than the single polymorphism Val158Met have been reported to underlie differences in protein expression by modulating mRNA secondary structure. So far, studies investigating the epigenetic variability of the S-COMT (soluble COMT) promoter region mainly focused on phenotypical aspects, and results have been controversial. METHODS: We assessed S-COMT promoter methylation in saliva and blood derived DNA with regard to early pre- and postnatal growth as well as to genotype for polymorphisms rs6269, rs4633, and rs4680 (Val158Met) in 20 monozygotic twin pairs (mean age 4 years), who were discordant for intrauterine development due to severe feto-fetal-transfusion syndrome. Methylation levels of two previously reported partially methylated cytosines were determined by the quantitative SIRPH (SNuPE- IP RP HPLC) assay. RESULTS: Overall, we observed a high variability of S-COMT promoter methylation, which did not correlate with individual differences in the pre- or postnatal growth pattern. Within the twin pairs however we noted a distinct similarity that could be linked to underlying COMT genotypes. This association was subsequently confirmed in a cohort of 93 unrelated adult controls. Interestingly, 158Val-alleles were found at both ends of the epigenotypical range, which is in accordance with a recently proposed model of COMT haplotypes corresponding to a continuum of phenotypical variability. CONCLUSION: The strong heritable component of S-COMT promoter methylation found in our study needs to be considered in future approaches that focus on interactions between COMT epigenotype and phenotype.