Quantitative DNA methylation analysis gives valuable information on the gene activity in the human genome under certain conditions. The methylation level of specific regions of the DNA is especially important for cancer research. varionostic, as THE methylation expert, gives you quantitative data on the methylation of the CpG regions and single CpGs you are interested in.

We use pyrosequencing as the "gold standard" of genetic analysis for methylation analysis. Pyrosquencing is an accurate and fast analysis method for quantifying CpG methylation in epigenetic studies. Quantification of methylation frequencies in individual CpG sites is highly reproducible due to its quantitative measurement principle, inherent quality controls, and few processing steps. Quality controls are built-in as CpG sites are presented in the context of the DNA sequence, and controls for completion of the bisulphite conversion step can be integrated into the analysis process. Single CpG sites can be analysed as easily as the individual methylation levels of multiple consecutive CpG sites. We have also established methods for estimating global methylation.

Combined with our specialised and customised services pyrosequencing is faster, cheaper and more accurate than other methods such as methylation-sensitive single-nucleotide primer extension (Ms-SNuPE),combined bisulphite restriction analysis (COBRA), bisulphite-PCR-SSCP (BiPS), methylation-specific PCR (MSP) or bisulphite sequencing. At the same time, pyrosequencing has a wider reading sequence and requires less laboratory work.

For more information on pyrosequencing please refer to our "technology" section.