5-hydroxymethylcytosine alterations in the human postmortem brains of autism spectrum disorder. 5-hydroxymethylcytosine alterations in the human postmortem brains of autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) comprise a group of disorders characterized by impaired language, social, and communication skills, in addition to restrictive behaviors or stereotypies. However, with a prevalence of 1.5% in developed countries and relatively high comorbidity rates, no clear underlying mechanism that unifies the heterogeneous phenotypes of ASD is known. 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) has been reported highly enriched in brain, and is now recognized as an important epigenetic mark in developmental and neurological disorders. To explore the role of 5hmC in ASD, we utilized the genomic DNA isolated from the postmortem cerebellum of both ASD patients and age-matched controls to profile genome-wide distribution of 5hmC. We identified 797 age-dependent differential hydroxymethylated regions (DhMRs) (q-value 35).