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Smyth LJ, Kilner J, Nair V, Liu H, Brennan E, Kerr K, Sandholm N, Cole J, Dahlström E, Syreeni A, Salem RM, Nelson RG, Looker HC, Wooster C, Anderson K, McKay GJ, Kee F, Young I, Andrews D, Forsblom C, Hirschhorn JN, Godson C, Groop PH, Maxwell AP, Susztak K, Kretzler M, Florez JC, McKnight AJ. Assessment of differentially methylated loci in individuals with end-stage kidney disease attributed to diabetic kidney disease: an exploratory study. Clin Epigenetics 2021; 13:99. [PMID: 33933144 PMCID: PMC8088646 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-021-01081-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Accepted: 04/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND A subset of individuals with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) are predisposed to developing diabetic kidney disease (DKD), the most common cause globally of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). Emerging evidence suggests epigenetic changes in DNA methylation may have a causal role in both T1DM and DKD. The aim of this exploratory investigation was to assess differences in blood-derived DNA methylation patterns between individuals with T1DM-ESKD and individuals with long-duration T1DM but no evidence of kidney disease upon repeated testing to identify potential blood-based biomarkers. Blood-derived DNA from individuals (107 cases, 253 controls and 14 experimental controls) were bisulphite treated before DNA methylation patterns from both groups were generated and analysed using Illumina's Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip arrays (n = 862,927 sites). Differentially methylated CpG sites (dmCpGs) were identified (false discovery rate adjusted p ≤ × 10-8 and fold change ± 2) by comparing methylation levels between ESKD cases and T1DM controls at single site resolution. Gene annotation and functionality was investigated to enrich and rank methylated regions associated with ESKD in T1DM. RESULTS Top-ranked genes within which several dmCpGs were located and supported by functional data with methylation look-ups in other cohorts include: AFF3, ARID5B, CUX1, ELMO1, FKBP5, HDAC4, ITGAL, LY9, PIM1, RUNX3, SEPTIN9 and UPF3A. Top-ranked enrichment pathways included pathways in cancer, TGF-β signalling and Th17 cell differentiation. CONCLUSIONS Epigenetic alterations provide a dynamic link between an individual's genetic background and their environmental exposures. This robust evaluation of DNA methylation in carefully phenotyped individuals has identified biomarkers associated with ESKD, revealing several genes and implicated key pathways associated with ESKD in individuals with T1DM.
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Affiliation(s)
- L J Smyth
- Molecular Epidemiology Research Group, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.
| | - J Kilner
- Molecular Epidemiology Research Group, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - V Nair
- Internal Medicine, Department of Nephrology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - H Liu
- Department of Department of Medicine/ Nephrology, Department of Genetics, Institute of Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - E Brennan
- Diabetes Complications Research Centre, Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - K Kerr
- Molecular Epidemiology Research Group, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - N Sandholm
- Folkhälsan Institute of Genetics, Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland.,Abdominal Center, Nephrology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.,Research Program for Clinical and Molecular Metabolism, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - J Cole
- Programs in Metabolism and Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Division of Endocrinology and Center for Basic and Translational Obesity Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Diabetes Unit and Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - E Dahlström
- Folkhälsan Institute of Genetics, Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland.,Abdominal Center, Nephrology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.,Research Program for Clinical and Molecular Metabolism, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - A Syreeni
- Folkhälsan Institute of Genetics, Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland.,Abdominal Center, Nephrology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.,Research Program for Clinical and Molecular Metabolism, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - R M Salem
- Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, UC San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - R G Nelson
- Chronic Kidney Disease Section, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Phoenix, AZ, USA
| | - H C Looker
- Chronic Kidney Disease Section, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Phoenix, AZ, USA
| | - C Wooster
- Molecular Epidemiology Research Group, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - K Anderson
- Molecular Epidemiology Research Group, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - G J McKay
- Molecular Epidemiology Research Group, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - F Kee
- Molecular Epidemiology Research Group, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - I Young
- Molecular Epidemiology Research Group, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - D Andrews
- Diabetes Complications Research Centre, Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - C Forsblom
- Folkhälsan Institute of Genetics, Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland.,Abdominal Center, Nephrology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.,Research Program for Clinical and Molecular Metabolism, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - J N Hirschhorn
- Programs in Metabolism and Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Division of Endocrinology and Center for Basic and Translational Obesity Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - C Godson
- Diabetes Complications Research Centre, Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - P H Groop
- Folkhälsan Institute of Genetics, Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland.,Abdominal Center, Nephrology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.,Research Program for Clinical and Molecular Metabolism, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Department of Diabetes, Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - A P Maxwell
- Molecular Epidemiology Research Group, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.,Regional Nephrology Unit, Belfast City Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - K Susztak
- Department of Department of Medicine/ Nephrology, Department of Genetics, Institute of Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - M Kretzler
- Internal Medicine, Department of Nephrology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - J C Florez
- Programs in Metabolism and Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Division of Endocrinology and Center for Basic and Translational Obesity Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - A J McKnight
- Molecular Epidemiology Research Group, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
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Smyth LJ, Patterson CC, Swan EJ, Maxwell AP, McKnight AJ. DNA Methylation Associated With Diabetic Kidney Disease in Blood-Derived DNA. Front Cell Dev Biol 2020; 8:561907. [PMID: 33178681 PMCID: PMC7593403 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2020.561907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2020] [Accepted: 09/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
A subset of individuals with type 1 diabetes will develop diabetic kidney disease (DKD). DKD is heritable and large-scale genome-wide association studies have begun to identify genetic factors that influence DKD. Complementary to genetic factors, we know that a person’s epigenetic profile is also altered with DKD. This study reports analysis of DNA methylation, a major epigenetic feature, evaluating methylome-wide loci for association with DKD. Unique features (n = 485,577; 482,421 CpG probes) were evaluated in blood-derived DNA from carefully phenotyped White European individuals diagnosed with type 1 diabetes with (cases) or without (controls) DKD (n = 677 samples). Explicitly, 150 cases were compared to 100 controls using the 450K array, with subsequent analysis using data previously generated for a further 96 cases and 96 controls on the 27K array, and de novo methylation data generated for replication in 139 cases and 96 controls. Following stringent quality control, raw data were quantile normalized and beta values calculated to reflect the methylation status at each site. The difference in methylation status was evaluated between cases and controls; resultant P-values for array-based data were adjusted for multiple testing. Genes with significantly increased (hypermethylated) and/or decreased (hypomethylated) levels of DNA methylation were considered for biological relevance by functional enrichment analysis using KEGG pathways. Twenty-two loci demonstrated statistically significant fold changes associated with DKD and additional support for these associated loci was sought using independent samples derived from patients recruited with similar inclusion criteria. Markers associated with CCNL1 and ZNF187 genes are supported as differentially regulated loci (P < 10–8), with evidence also presented for AFF3, which has been identified from a meta-analysis and subsequent replication of genome-wide association studies. Further supporting evidence for differential gene expression in CCNL1 and ZNF187 is presented from kidney biopsy and blood-derived RNA in people with and without kidney disease from NephroSeq. Evidence confirming that methylation sites influence the development of DKD may aid risk prediction tools and stimulate research to identify epigenomic therapies which might be clinically useful for this disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura J Smyth
- Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | | | - Elizabeth J Swan
- Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - Alexander P Maxwell
- Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom.,Regional Nephrology Unit, Belfast City Hospital, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - Amy Jayne McKnight
- Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
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