Promoter methylation of fas apoptotic inhibitory molecule 2 gene is associated with obesity and dyslipidaemia in Chinese children

Fas apoptotic inhibitory molecule 2 (FAIM2) is an obesity-related gene, but the mechanisms by which FAIM2 is involved in obesity are not understood. Epigenetic alterations are important factors in the development of obesity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential associations of FAIM2 promoter methylation with obesity and components of dyslipidaemia in Chinese children. We studied FAIM2 promoter methylation in 59 obese and 39 lean children using the Sequenom MassARRAY platform. The methylation levels at 8 CpG sites in the FAIM2 promoter were significantly different between the obese and lean subjects, especially the methylation level at CpG site 500 (p=0.01). The methylation levels at several of the examined CpG sites were significantly associated with dyslipidaemia and its components after adjusting for age, gender and body mass index (BMI). The methylation levels at two CpG sites (sites -362 and -360 and site -164) were highly significantly associated with high level of triglycerides (p=0.00002 and 0.0009, respectively). This study provides the first evidence that the methylation levels of the FAIM2 promoter are significantly associated with obesity and are independently associated with dyslipidaemia and its components in Chinese children.