Comparison of DNA methylation patterns across tissue types in infants with tetralogy of Fallot.

Background: Environmental factors may influence the development of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), and DNA methylation patterns may reveal specific chemical signatures of perturbations during cardiac development. We investigated whether blood and buccal cells could be viable surrogates for myocardium.

Methods: We measured epigenome-wide DNA methylation at 866,895 5'-cytosine-phosphate-guanine-3' (CpG) sites in blood (n=3), buccal cells (n=3), and right ventricular myocardium (n=4) collected from infants with TOF and compared the percent of differentially methylated CpG sites across tissue types.