Cord blood hematopoietic cells display altered DNA methylation patterns in preterm birth

Genome-wide DNA methylation was measured using the Illumina 450K array in T cells, monocytes, granulocytes and nucleated red blood cells (nRBCs) isolated from cord blood of term and extreme preterm (<31 weeks gestational age) individuals. 36 samples in total: 5 each of T cells, monocytes, granulocytes and nRBCs from term births; and 5 T cells, 4 monocytes, 4 nRBCs and 3 granulocytes from preterm births. Bisulphite-converted DNA from 36 cord blood cell populations sorted by a FACS protocol formally excluding erythroid lineage-specific marker CD235 in white blood cells (T cells, monocytes, granulocytes and nucleated red blood cells collected from cord blood of 5 term and 5 preterm births) were hybridized to the Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip.