We observed apparent non-Mendelian behaviour of alleles when genotyping a region in a CpG island at the 5′ end of the maternally imprinted human MEST isoform. This region contains three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in total linkage disequilibrium, such that only two haplotypes occur in the human population. Only one haplotype was detectable in each subject, never both, despite the use of multiple primers and several genotyping methods. We observed that this region contains motifs capable of forming several G-quadruplex structures. Circular dichroism spectroscopy and native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis confirmed that at least three G-quadruplexes form in vitro in the presence of potassium ions, and one of these structures has a T m of greater than 99°C in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) buffer. We demonstrate that it is the methylated maternal allele that is always lost during PCR amplification, and that formation of G-quadruplexes and presence of methylated cytosines both contributed to this phenomenon. This observed parent-of-origin specific allelic drop-out has important implications for analysis of imprinted genes in research and diagnostic settings.

The purpose of this paper was to selectively review the literature on the role of epigenetics in mental illnesses. Aberrant epigenetic regulation has been clearly implicated in the aetiology of some human illnesses. In recent years a growing body of evidence has highlighted the possibility that epigenetics may also play a key role in the origins and expression of mental disorders. Epigenetic phenomena may help explain some of the complexity of mental illnesses and provide a basis for discovering novel pharmacological targets to treat these disorders.