Investigation of the Relationship Between Methylation of Circadian Rhythm Genes and Menopause

Objective: The circadian system acts at whole levels of a woman's life as a cornerstone: from follicle generation to the arrangement of hormonal balance; and the process from embryo implantation to birth.Methods: We compared the promoter methylation status of the circadian genes, BMAL1 and CLOCK, between pre-menopausal and postmenopausal women to find an epigenetic explanation in women with menopause. In this perspective, 56 postmenopausal women and 48 premenopausal women were enrolled in this study. Results: Menopause and methylation status of the BMAL1 or CLOCK genes did not show any statistically significant correlations (p > 0.05). Moreover, the correlation of the methylation pattern of the BMAL1 and CLOCK genes with age could not be detected (p > 0.05).Conclusion: The methylation status of the BMAL1 and CLOCK genes in menopause was characterized for the first time in our study. Further studies should shed light on this subject. Keywords: Menopause, BMAL1, CLOCK, MS-HRM, methylation

Automated summary

This study compared the promoter methylation status of circadian genes BMAL1 and CLOCK between pre-menopausal and postmenopausal women. The results showed no significant correlation between menopause and methylation status of these genes. Further research is needed to shed light on this subject.