Integrative Analysis of Genome-wide Expression and Methylation Data

Abstract

Microarray technology has provided a tool for investigating expression levels and methylation signatures, of thousands of genes simultaneously, in a biological sample. Recent advances in next-generation sequencing and microarray technology make it possible to study genome-wide mRNA expression and DNA methylation profiles at a high resolution and in a large number of samples. However, integration of expression and methylation data turns to be a challenge. First, we briefly introduce the gene expression and methylation technology, data structure, and basic statistical methods. Furthermore, we review recent advances in integrative analysis of expression and methylation data. In addition, we stress some future directions.