Methylation-Based Age Prediction Using Pyrosequencing Platform from Seminal Stains in Han Chinese Males

Various methods have been performed to predict an unknown individual's age from biological traces in forensic investigations. A considerably accurate age prediction for the semen donor can help narrow down the search in a sexual assault case. The aim of this study was to develop an assay for age prediction from seminal stains in Han Chinese males. We built a sperm-specific linear regression model using bisulfite pyrosequencing. Validations were conducted with a Mean Absolute Deviation from the chronological age (MAD) of 4.219 years in liquid semen, 4.158 years in fresh seminal stains, 4.393 years in aged seminal stains, and 3.880 years in mixed stains, respectively. Furthermore, our strategy enables accurate age prediction using a forensic casework sample. The strategy indicated that we produced an accurate and reliable age prediction tool for the semen donors in Han Chinese males for forensic purposes.     

A novel multiplex assay system based on 10 methylation markers for forensic identification of body fluids

Identifying the source of body fluids found at a crime scene is an essential forensic step. Some methods based on DNA methylation played significant role in body fluids identification. Since DNA methylation is related to multiple factors, such as race, age, and diseases, it is necessary to know the methylation profile of a given population. In this study, we tested 19 body fluid-specific methylation markers in a Chinese Han population. A novel multiplex assay system based on the selected markers with smaller variation in methylation and stronger tissue-specific methylation were developed for the identification of body fluids. The multiplex assay were tested in 265 body fluid samples. A random forest model was established to predict the tissue source based on the methylation data of the 10 markers. The multiplex assay was evaluated by testing the sensitivity, the mixtures, and old samples. For the result, the novel multiplex assay based on 10 selected methylation markers presented good methylation profiles in all tested samples. The random forest model worked extremely well in predicting the source of body fluids, with an accuracy of 100% and 97.5% in training data and test data, respectively. The multiplex assay could accurately predict the tissue source from 0.5 ng genomic DNA, six-months-old samples and distinguish the minor component from a mixture of two components. Our results indicated that the methylation multiplex assay and the random forest model could provide a convenient tool for forensic practitioners in body fluid identification.     

Application of fragment analysis based on methylation status mobility difference to identify vaginal secretions

Identifying vaginal secretions attaching or adhering to a suspect’s belongings would be beneficial for reconstructing the events that have taken place during a sexual assault. The present study describes a novel approach to identify vaginal secretions by fragment analysis using capillary electrophoresis, based on the mobility differences of PCR amplicons from bisulfite-treated DNA depending on methylation status. We targeted three genome regions including each of three vaginal secretion-specific methylated CpG sites reported previously: cg25416153, cg09765089, and cg14991487. In all three genome regions, the amplicon peaks for methylated genomic DNA (gDNA) sequences were only detected in vaginal samples, whereas samples of other body fluids (blood, saliva, semen, and deposit on skin surface) only showed amplicon peaks for unmethylated gDNA sequences. In vaginal secretions, the methylation ratio of each of the three targeted regions between samples was variable, while the ratios at the three regions in each sample were similar. Furthermore, commercial vaginal epithelial cells were completely methylated at the three regions. Therefore, vaginal secretion-specific methylation may derive from vaginal epithelial cells present in the sample.In forensic cases with a limited amount of DNA, the reproducibility of a detected peak using the present method is not high due to degradation of DNA by bisulfite treatment and subsequent stochastic PCR bias. However, it was possible to detect peaks from methylated DNA sequences by performing PCR and capillary electrophoresis in triplicate after bisulfite treatment, even when bisulfite treatment was performed using 0.5 ng of gDNA from vaginal secretions. In addition, the level of methylation at each targeted region was found to be stable in vaginal secretions stored for 1 year at room temperature. Therefore, we conclude that detection of the visual peak from vaginal secretion-specific methylated DNA sequence is useful to prove the presence of vaginal secretions. This approach has the potential to analyze multiple marker regions simultaneously, and may provide a new multiplex assay to identify various body fluids.     

印记基因KCNQ1的遗传多态性及在亲权鉴定中的应用

目的为了调查印记基因KCNQ1的STR位点在中国汉族人群中的遗传多态性，利用亲源印记等位基因（parentally imprinting allele，PIA）分型法确定孩子的等位基因亲代来源，为亲权鉴定提供新的侯选STR位点。方法应用Chelex法提取153例佳木斯地区汉族健康无血缘关系个体DNA，用QIAamp Blood Kit（Qiagen）法提取3个家庭10个个体DNA，PCR扩增，凝胶电泳分型，ABIPRISM^TM 3730XL DNA测序仪测序；甲基化敏感性限制性内切酶消化孩子基因组DNA，PCR扩增，确定孩子等位基因的亲代来源。结果发现在中国佳木斯地区汉族人群中KCNQ1基因的STR有7个等位基因，多态信息含量为0．662，且KCNQ1基因的STR位点呈父源印记。结论印记基因KCNQ1的STR位点有很好的多态性，可为亲权鉴定提供新的侯选遗传标记，其亲源特异性甲基化标记有望应用于单亲鉴定中。     

Parentally imprinted allele (PIA) typing in the differentially methylated region upstream of the human H19 gene

The H19 gene is a paternally imprinted gene located on chromosome 11p15.5. In this study, the H19FR1 and H19FR2 haplotype polymorphisms including four and three SNPs, respectively, upstream of the H19 gene according to the GenBank sequence (accession no. AF125183) were investigated. Five haplotypes and nine genotypes were detected for H19FR1 in the Chinese Han population by means of PCR and subsequent denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The power of discrimination (Dp), polymorphism information content (PIC) and probability of paternity exclusion (PE) were estimated to be 0.803, 0.58 and 0.322, respectively. For the H19FR2, two haplotypes and three genotyes were observed, and the Dp, PIC and PE were 0.626, 0.37 and 0.162, respectively. Sequencing results showed that only two of the four reported SNPs, a7342g and g7547a, were detected in H19FR1 in the Chinese Han population, and two new SNPs, g7351c and a7357g, were found. In the H19FR2 region, only one of the three reported SNPs, a8097g, was detected. Based on the methylation status of the genomic DNA, selective detection of the parental alleles for H19FRs was examined by using two types of enzymes, the methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme (msRE) HpaII or HhaI and McrBC. Genomic DNA digested by either HpaII or HhaI, revealed a single band derived from the paternal allele, as a result of cleavage of unmethylated recognition sites on the maternal allele. On the contrary, the use of McrBC, which can digest a methylated paternal sequence, resulted in exclusively amplifying the maternal allele. This parentally imprinted allele (PIA) typing method could be one of the useful techniques for discriminating the parental origin of alleles.     

同卵双生子外周血DNA甲基化谱的差异

目的通过比较不同个体外周血DNA甲基化谱的差异,评估DNA甲基化在同卵双生子个体甄别中的应用价值。方法在知情同意基础上获得22对同卵双生子外周血样。抽提基因组DNA后进行重亚硫酸盐转化．采用Illuraina公司的人27k甲基化微珠芯片检测基因组27578个CpG位点的甲基化程度（启值）。依据常染色体CpG位点的序值,采用欧氏距离计算方法计算同卵双生子间以及同性男ll的无关个体间的表观遗传距离。比较同卵双生子对与无关个体对两组不同人群间的表观遗传距离差异。结果同卵双生子对人群以及无关个体对人群中的男性个体对与女性个体对的表观遗传距离差异均无统计学意义（P值分别为0．0695和0．4825）。同卵双生子对的表观遗传距离显著低于无关个体对人群（中位数：6．02νs7．20,P=0．0002）．但两组人群的表观遗传距离均显著大于4．00（P〈0．0001）。结论同卵双生子间的外周血DNA甲基化谱差异显著．DNA甲基化是进行同卵双生子个体甄别的有效生物学标记。     

HUMARA基因座差异甲基化的法医学意义

目的　探讨X连锁差异甲基化多态性基因座的法医学应用意义。方法　以STR基因座HUMARA为例 ,应用甲基化敏感性限制酶消化后PCR技术 ,复合分析该基因座的STR多态性和甲基化状态 ,调查并比较男、女检材的分型效果。结果　基因组DNA经HpaⅡ消化后 ,男性没有扩增产物 ,女性分型不受影响 ,男女混合检材得到女性的分型图谱。女性单克隆瘤细胞只能检出 1个等位基因。结论　差异甲基化的HUMARA基因座是混合斑分析、性别鉴定和组织克隆性判断的有用工具。     

A New Robust Epigenetic Model for Forensic Age Prediction

Forensic DNA phenotyping refers to an emerging field of forensic sciences aimed at the prediction of externally visible characteristics of unknown sample donors directly from biological materials. The aging process significantly affects most of the above characteristics making the development of a reliable method of age prediction very important. Today, the so-called “epigenetic clocks” represent the most accurate models for age prediction. Since they are technically not achievable in a typical forensic laboratory, forensic DNA technology has triggered efforts toward the simplification of these models. The present study aimed to build an epigenetic clock using a set of methylation markers of five different genes in a sample of the Italian population of different ages covering the whole span of adult life. In a sample of 330 subjects, 42 selected markers were analyzed with a machine learning approach for building a prediction model for age prediction. A ridge linear regression model including eight of the proposed markers was identified as the best performing model across a plethora of candidates. This model was tested on an independent sample of 83 subjects providing a median error of 4.5 years. In the present study, an epigenetic model for age prediction was validated in a sample of the Italian population. However, its applicability to advanced ages still represents the main limitation in forensic caseworks.     

1对同卵双生新生儿DNA甲基化谱差异分析

目的 探索1对同卵双生新生儿之间DNA甲基化谱的差异.方法 应用甲基化免疫共沉淀结合高通量测序法对1对同卵双生新生儿的DNA甲基化谱进行检测,分析基因组DNA甲基化特点及其之间的差异,筛选适用于法医学分析的甲基化位点.结果 两样本各获得7300万原始测序序列(raw reads)数据,与人类基因组参考序列比对,各得到4800万和5000万唯一比对reads,其中大部分分布在重复区域,且在Alu序列分布最为广泛.两样本DNA甲基化富集区域(peak)各检测到257 362条和197 272条,基因组覆盖率分别为6.53％和5.29％,分布在基因组不同区域,以中间内含子区含量最多.分析两样本甲基化差异区域得到2205条差异的甲基化序列,其中595条位于基因区域,1610条位于基因间区,从中筛选出113条序列,用于进一步深入研究其法医学应用价值.结论 本研究初步证实了DNA甲基化用于同卵双生子鉴定的可行性,为筛选同卵双生子DNA甲基化差异位点提供了基础数据.     

广东汉族人群H19基因上游差异甲基化区SNP

目的调查广东汉族人群中H19基因上游差异甲基化区(differentially methylated region,DMR)的单核苷酸多态性(SNP)及单倍型。方法应用PIA分型法,以限制性内切酶Mcr BC、HpaⅡ消化基因组DNA分别获得个体单亲源DNA模板链,经测序,分别获得个体H19基因上游DMR单亲源SNP等位基因、基因型及单倍型数据。结果共检出13个SNP(rs10840167、rs2525883、rs12417375、rs4930101、rs2525882、rs2735970、rs2735971、rs11042170、rs2735972、rs10732516、rs2071094、rs2107425、rs4930098)及1个突变点(g7351c)。所有位点经统计学分析均符合Hardy-Weinberg平衡定律(P0.05)。除rs12417375位点DP值为0.279,其余12个SNP DP值在0.446~0.614;g7351c突变点DP值为0.013,提示为南方汉族民族特异性位点。共检出8种单倍型(命名为单倍型1~8),其中有3种为新发现的单倍型,其DP、PIC、PE及H分别为0.891、0.714、0.524和0.758。结论 PIA分型法获得的H19基因上游DMR SNP位点及其单倍型遗传标记系统具有较高的鉴别能力,在法医学鉴定中具有较好的实用价值。