Mouse CD25/IL-2sR alpha ELISA Kit

To confirm and fine map previous reports of association, the Type I Diabetes (T1D) Genetics Consortium (T1DGC) assembled a large collection of DNA samples from affected sib-pair (ASP) families with T1D (5003 affected individuals) and genotyped polymorphic markers. One of these loci, involving the IL2RA gene, had been reported to be due to three independent effects. The T1DGC genotyped 69 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that span similar to 88 kb from the 5' flanking to 3' flanking region of the IL2RA locus. The most highly associated SNP reported earlier (ss52580101) was not included in the genotyping list; however, a 5-SNP (rs3134883, rs3118470, rs7072793, rs4749955 and rs12251307) haplotype (H5) was identified that strongly tagged its minor allele with r(2) = 0.869 (95% CI, 0.850-0.885). This haplotype was significantly protective (P = 3.2 x 10(-5)) in the T1D ASP families, with an odds ratio virtually identical to that reported for ss52580101. The SNP marking the second independent locus, (rs11594656) showed no association in the T1DGC set and the third (rs2104286) could not be distinguished, by conditional regression, from H5. Instead, the most significant independent effect was detected from the 5' flanking IL2RA SNP rs4749955, which remained significant after regression for H5. Thus, we confirm independent effects at the IL2RA locus. Genes and Immunity (2009) 10, S42-S48; doi:10.1038/gene.2009.90

Genetic studies have demonstrated association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms within the IL2RA (interleukin-2 receptor a-subunit) gene and risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS); however, these variants do not have obvious functional consequences. DNA methylation is a source of genetic variation that could impact on autoimmune disease risk. We investigated DNA methylation of the IL2RA promoter in genomic DNA obtained from peripheral blood mononuclear cells and neural tissue using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. A differential methylation profile of IL2RA was identified, suggesting that IL2RA expression was regulated by DNA methylation. We extended our analysis of DNA methylation to peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) of MS cases and controls using MALDI-TOF and Illumina HumanMethylation450 arrays. Analyses of CpG sites within the proximal promoter of IL2RA in PBMC showed no differences between MS cases and controls despite an increase in IL2RA expression. In contrast, we inferred significant DNA methylation differences specific to particular leukocyte subtypes in MS cases compared with controls by deconvolution of the array data. The decrease in methylation in patients correlated with an increase in IL2RA expression in T cells from MS cases in comparison with controls. Our data suggest that differential methylation of the IL2RA promoter in T cells could be an important pathogenic mechanism in MS.