Generally, suppression of a gene is more frequently associated with an increase of 5hmC in the promoter, but previous reports have shown that changes in the gene body of a gene can also be correlated with a decrease in gene transcription.34 It is noteworthy that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs833069 within intron 2 is associated with the risk of AMD.35 This SNP is located in close proximity to the differentially hydroxymethylated region, raising a possibility that this variant may affect VEGF expression via DNA hydroxymethylation. This evidence concerns the gene VEGFA and age-related macular degeneration.