DNA methylation analysis of B cells in Rheumatoid Arthritis

This study performed a genome-wide methylation analysis of positively isolated CD19+ B cells in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and healthy controls. The Ilumina HumanMethylation450 BeadChip was uset to obtain the methylation levels at >400,000 CpG sites. Samples include 49 RA patients and 73 healthy controls. Bisulphite converted DNA from the 122 samples were hybridised to the Illumina HumanMethylation450 BeadChip. Methylation levels at each CpG site were compared between RA patients and controls, as well as at a pathway-level.