Epigenetic regulation of SLC11a1 gene in horses infected with cyathostomins

Abstract Cyathostomins are the most prevalent nematode parasites of horses worldwide and the SLC11a1 gene has been found to modulate the host immune response against parasite infections. The objective of this work was to determine the DNA methylation profile of the SLC11a1 gene in naturally infected horses (n = 6) and correlate it with the cyathostomin fecal egg count (FEC). In silico analyzes showed two CpG islands, located in the body of the gene and DNA sequencing showed a statistically significant difference between the methylation profile of islands 1 and 2 (P  95%), while island 2 was hypomethylated (