Identification of an association between coronary heart disease and ITGB2 methylation in peripheral blood by a case-control study

Background: Blood DNA methylation was associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) risk in Caucasians. We investigated the association between DNA methylation in peripheral blood at the reported loci and CHD in the Chinese population.Methods: The integrin subunit beta 2 (ITGB2) gene was identified in 196 CHD cases and 184 controls, and its methylation level was determined by mass spectrometry. Logistic regression was used to assess the association.Results: Hypomethylation of ITGB2 was significantly associated with heart failure CHD and NYHA I&II CHD patients with minor to medium cardiac function impairment (ITGB2_CpG_11/cg08422803, OR per-10 % methylation = 1.15 and 1.16; p = 0.012 and 0.018 by Bonferroni correction, respectively). Hypomethylation of ITGB2_CpG_11/cg08422803 was a risk factor for CHD in people < 65 years and males (p < 0.05 after Bonferroni correction). The combination of ITGB2 methylation and conventional CHD risk factors could efficiently discriminate CHD, heart failure CHD, NYHA I&II CHD, and myocardial infarction CHD patients from controls (AUC = 0.78, 0.81, 0.80, and 0.81, respectively).Conclusion: Blood-based ITGB2 methylation has the potential as a biomarker for CHD. The combination of ITGB2 methylation and conventional CHD risk factors may improve the risk assessment and detection of CHD.