The value of blood derived DNA methylation signatures in advancing our understanding of Crohn’s Disease pathogenesis

DNA methylation is one of the main epigenetic mechanisms, known to be operative in mammals. Extensive evidence has highlighted its pivotal role in several fundamental biological processes including organogenesis, X-chromosome inactivation and genomic imprinting (1). Although our understanding of how DNA methylation impacts on gene transcription and cellular function remains incomplete, it is clear that DNA methylation plays an important role in defining cell and tissue specific cellular function (2,3).