Methods for diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis
AssigneeShunichi Shiozawa
InventorsShunichi Shiozawa, Kayo Osawa, Nozomi Takami, Akira Hashiramoto, Yasushi Miura
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Analysis is made on the DNA methylation of the region (including a promoter region) upstream from the translation initiation point of a rheumatoid arthritis-associated gene DR3 in human genome. As a result, it is found out that an allele-specific methylation occurs in a CpG sequence located about −380 to −180 bp upstream from translation initiation point (ATG) of the gene DR3. It is further found out that the CpG sequences downstream therefrom of the genes DR3 originating in healthy subjects are all in the unmethylated state, while methylated and unmethylated sequences are both observed in the genes DR3 originating in RA patients.
Claims6
A method for determining whether a human subject has developed rheumatoid arthritis or has the likelihood of developing rheumatoid arthritis, comprising:
- (i) detecting whether CpG sequences in a region from base 374 to base 592 of SEQ ID NO:
- 1 in a DR3 gene promoter region obtained from synovial cells or synovial infiltrating lymphocytes of the human subject are methylated or not;
- and
- (ii) determining that the human subject has developed rheumatoid arthritis or has the likelihood of developing rheumatoid arthritis when there is an increase in the number of methylated CpG sequences in the region from base 374 to base 592 of SEQ ID NO:
- 1 are methylated as compared to a control DR3 gene promoter region from base 374 to base 592 of SEQ ID NO:
- 1.
A method for determining whether a human subject has developed rheumatoid arthritis or has a likelihood of developing rheumatoid arthritis, comprising:
- detecting whether CpG sequences from base 374 to base 592 of SEQ ID NO:
- 1 in a DR3 gene promoter region obtained from synovial cells or synovial infiltrating lymphocytes of a human subject are methylated or not;
- detecting whether CpG sequences from base 374 to base 592 of SEQ ID NO:
- 1 in a DR3 gene promoter region obtained from peripheral blood lymphocytes of the human subject are methylated or not;
- comparing methylation of the DR3 gene promoter region obtained from the synovial cells or synovial infiltrating lymphocytes with methylation of the DR3 gene promoter region obtained from the peripheral blood lymphocytes;
- and
- determining that the human subject has developed rheumatoid arthritis or has the likelihood of developing rheumatoid arthritis when the DR3 gene promoter region obtained from the synovial cells or synovial infiltrating lymphocytes is methylated at a higher ratio than the DR3 gene promoter region obtained from the peripheral blood lymphocytes.
A method for determining whether a human subject has developed rheumatoid arthritis or has a likelihood of developing rheumatoid arthritis, comprising:
- detecting whether CpG sequences from base 374 to base 592 of SEQ ID NO:
- 1 in a DR3 gene promoter region obtained from synovial cells or synovial infiltrating lymphocytes of a human subject are methylated or not;
- comparing methylation of the DR3 gene promoter region obtained from the synovial cells or synovial infiltrating lymphocytes with a control DR3 gene promoter region obtained from peripheral blood lymphocytes of a healthy human subject;
- and
- determining that the human subject has developed rheumatoid arthritis or has the likelihood of developing rheumatoid arthritis when the DR3 gene promoter region obtained from the synovial cells or synovial infiltrating lymphocytes is methylated at a higher ratio than the DR3 gene promoter region originating in the peripheral blood lymphocytes of the healthy human subject.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.