The relationship between PLAGL1 methylation level and the risk of abnormal growth: a meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective Studies and researches have indicated that the methylation level of PLAGL1 differentially methylated region (DMR) was associated with some development disorder syndromes.This project is purposed to prove whether methylation levels of PLAGL1 DMR is related to the fetal and early postnatal development. Methods We performed a meta-analysis of the published data on PLAGL1 DMR methylation levels in children with developmental disorders compared with that in normal children. Results PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, WanFang databases were systematically searched to identify relevant studies.We included 7 studies in this meta-analysis, with a total of 195 cases and 438 controls concerning 6 kinds of developmental disorder syndromes.The methylation level of PLAGL1 DMR was lower in children with abnormal growth (excess growth or retarded growth) than that in normal children, with a pooled percentage mean methylation difference (95% confidence intervals) of -1.05 (-1.93, -0.17). On this basis, we analyzed the odds ratio (95% confidence intervals) of hypomethylation of PLAGL1 DMR in abnormal growth children in comparison with normal children.The combined odds ratio (95% confidence intervals) of hypomethylation in abnormal growth children is 2.18 (1.23, 3.88) in comparison with normal children. Conclusion Hypomethylation of PLALG1 is actually a risk factor of suffering abnormal growth for children. Key words: Meta-analysis; PLAGL1; Differentially methylated region; Methylation; Abnormal growth