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Cheng Y, Justice A, Wang Z, Li B, Hancock DB, Johnson EO, Xu K. Cis-meQTL for cocaine use-associated DNA methylation in an HIV-positive cohort show pleiotropic effects on multiple traits. BMC Genomics 2023; 24:556. [PMID: 37730558 PMCID: PMC10510240 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-023-09661-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/22/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cocaine use (CU) is associated with psychiatric and medical diseases. Little is known about the mechanisms of CU-related comorbidities. Findings from preclinical and clinical studies have suggested that CU is associated with aberrant DNA methylation (DNAm) that may be influenced by genetic variants [i.e., methylation quantitative trait loci (meQTLs)]. In this study, we mapped cis-meQTLs for CU-associated DNAm sites (CpGs) in an HIV-positive cohort (Ntotal = 811) and extended the meQTLs to multiple traits. RESULTS We conducted cis-meQTL analysis for 224 candidate CpGs selected for their association with CU in blood. We identified 7,101 significant meQTLs [false discovery rate (FDR) < 0.05], which mostly mapped to genes involved in immunological functions and were enriched in immune pathways. We followed up the meQTLs using phenome-wide association study and trait enrichment analyses, which revealed 9 significant traits. We tested for causal effects of CU on these 9 traits using Mendelian Randomization and found evidence that CU plays a causal role in increasing hypertension (p-value = 2.35E-08) and decreasing heel bone mineral density (p-value = 1.92E-19). CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that genetic variants for CU-associated DNAm have pleiotropic effects on other relevant traits and provide new insights into the causal relationships between cocaine use and these complex traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youshu Cheng
- Department of Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, 06516, USA
| | - Amy Justice
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, 06516, USA
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - Zuoheng Wang
- Department of Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - Boyang Li
- Department of Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, 06516, USA
| | - Dana B Hancock
- GenOmics, Bioinformatics, and Translational Research Center, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | - Eric O Johnson
- GenOmics, Bioinformatics, and Translational Research Center, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
- Fellow Program, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | - Ke Xu
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, 06516, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, 300 George Street, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA.
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2
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Cheng D, Luo Z, Fitting S, Stoops W, Heath SL, Ndhlovu LC, Jiang W. The link between chronic cocaine use, B cell perturbations, and blunted immune recovery in HIV-infected individuals on suppressive ART. NEUROIMMUNE PHARMACOLOGY AND THERAPEUTICS 2023; 2:71-79. [PMID: 37027536 PMCID: PMC10070012 DOI: 10.1515/nipt-2022-0019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Background We recently reveal that anti-CD4 autoantibodies contribute to blunted CD4+ T cell reconstitution in HIV+ individuals on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Cocaine use is common among HIV+ individuals and is associated with accelerated disease progression. However, the mechanisms underlying cocaine-induced immune perturbations remain obscure. Methods We evaluated plasma levels of anti-CD4 IgG and markers of microbial translocation, as well as B-cell gene expression profiles and activation in HIV+ chronic cocaine users and non-users on suppressive ART, as well as uninfected controls. Plasma purified anti-CD4 IgGs were assessed for antibody-dependent cytotoxicity (ADCC). Results HIV+ cocaine users had increased plasma levels of anti-CD4 IgGs, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and soluble CD14 (sCD14) versus non-users. An inverse correlation was observed in cocaine users, but not non-drug users. Anti-CD4 IgGs from HIV+ cocaine users mediated CD4+ T cell death through ADCC in vitro. B cells from HIV+ cocaine users exhibited activation signaling pathways and activation (cycling and TLR4 expression) related to microbial translocation versus non-users. Conclusions This study improves our understanding of cocaine associated B cell perturbations and immune failure and the new appreciation for autoreactive B cells as novel therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Da Cheng
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Zhenwu Luo
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Sylvia Fitting
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - William Stoops
- Department of Behavioral Science, Department of Psychiatry, Center on Drug and Alcohol Research, Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky College of Medicine and College of Arts and Sciences, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Sonya L. Heath
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Lishomwa C. Ndhlovu
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Wei Jiang
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
- Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center, Charleston, SC, USA
- Divison of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, USA
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3
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Xu K, Li S, Pandey P, Kang AY, Morimoto LM, Mancuso N, Ma X, Metayer C, Wiemels JL, de Smith AJ. Investigating DNA methylation as a mediator of genetic risk in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Hum Mol Genet 2022; 31:3741-3756. [PMID: 35717575 PMCID: PMC9616572 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddac137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Revised: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Genome-wide association studies have identified a growing number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), yet the functional roles of most SNPs are unclear. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that epigenetic mechanisms may mediate the impact of heritable genetic variation on phenotypes. Here, we investigated whether DNA methylation mediates the effect of genetic risk loci for childhood ALL. We performed an epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) including 808 childhood ALL cases and 919 controls from California-based studies using neonatal blood DNA. For differentially methylated CpG positions (DMPs), we next conducted association analysis with 23 known ALL risk SNPs followed by causal mediation analyses addressing the significant SNP-DMP pairs. DNA methylation at CpG cg01139861, in the promoter region of IKZF1, mediated the effects of the intronic IKZF1 risk SNP rs78396808, with the average causal mediation effect (ACME) explaining ~30% of the total effect (ACME P = 0.0031). In analyses stratified by self-reported race/ethnicity, the mediation effect was only significant in Latinos, explaining ~41% of the total effect of rs78396808 on ALL risk (ACME P = 0.0037). Conditional analyses confirmed the presence of at least three independent genetic risk loci for childhood ALL at IKZF1, with rs78396808 unique to non-European populations. We also demonstrated that the most significant DMP in the EWAS, CpG cg13344587 at gene ARID5B (P = 8.61 × 10-10), was entirely confounded by the ARID5B ALL risk SNP rs7090445. Our findings provide new insights into the functional pathways of ALL risk SNPs and the DNA methylation differences associated with risk of childhood ALL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keren Xu
- Center for Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Shaobo Li
- Center for Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Priyatama Pandey
- Center for Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Alice Y Kang
- School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA
| | - Libby M Morimoto
- School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA
| | - Nicholas Mancuso
- Center for Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Xiaomei Ma
- Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Catherine Metayer
- School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA
| | - Joseph L Wiemels
- Center for Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Adam J de Smith
- Center for Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
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4
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Liu Z, Meng M, Ding S, Zhou X, Feng K, Huang T, Cai YD. Identification of methylation signatures and rules for predicting the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection with machine learning methods. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:1007295. [PMID: 36212830 PMCID: PMC9537378 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1007295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 at various severities have different clinical manifestations and treatments. Mild or moderate patients usually recover with conventional medical treatment, but severe patients require prompt professional treatment. Thus, stratifying infected patients for targeted treatment is meaningful. A computational workflow was designed in this study to identify key blood methylation features and rules that can distinguish the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection. First, the methylation features in the expression profile were deeply analyzed by a Monte Carlo feature selection method. A feature list was generated. Next, this ranked feature list was fed into the incremental feature selection method to determine the optimal features for different classification algorithms, thereby further building optimal classifiers. These selected key features were analyzed by functional enrichment to detect their biofunctional information. Furthermore, a set of rules were set up by a white-box algorithm, decision tree, to uncover different methylation patterns on various severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Some genes (PARP9, MX1, IRF7), corresponding to essential methylation sites, and rules were validated by published academic literature. Overall, this study contributes to revealing potential expression features and provides a reference for patient stratification. The physicians can prioritize and allocate health and medical resources for COVID-19 patients based on their predicted severe clinical outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiyang Liu
- School of Life Sciences, Changchun Sci-Tech University, Changchun, China
| | - Mei Meng
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Center for Single-Cell Omics, School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - ShiJian Ding
- School of Life Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
| | - XiaoChao Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Center for Single-Cell Omics, School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - KaiYan Feng
- Department of Computer Science, Guangdong AIB Polytechnic College, Guangzhou, China
| | - Tao Huang
- Bio-Med Big Data Center, CAS Key Laboratory of Computational Biology, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tissue Microenvironment and Tumor, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
- *Correspondence: Tao Huang,
| | - Yu-Dong Cai
- School of Life Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
- Yu-Dong Cai,
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Zolopa C, Høj SB, Minoyan N, Bruneau J, Makarenko I, Larney S. Ageing and older people who use illicit opioids, cocaine or methamphetamine: a scoping review and literature map. Addiction 2022; 117:2168-2188. [PMID: 35072313 PMCID: PMC9544522 DOI: 10.1111/add.15813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
AIMS To provide an overview of research literature on ageing and older people who use illicit opioids and stimulants by documenting the conceptual frameworks used and content areas that have been investigated. METHODS We conducted a scoping review of literature relating to ageing and older people who use illicit stimulants and opioids, defining 'older' as 40 years and above. Primary studies, secondary studies and editorials were included. Searches were conducted in PubMed and Embase in July 2020 and March 2021; the Cochrane library was searched in November 2021. Charted data included methodological details, any conceptual frameworks explicitly applied by authors and the content areas that were the focus of the publication. We developed a hierarchy of content areas and mapped this to provide a visual guide to the research area. RESULTS Of the 164 publications included in this review, only 16 explicitly applied a conceptual framework. Seven core content areas were identified, with most publications contributing to multiple content areas: acknowledgement of drug use among older people (n = 64), health status (n = 129), health services (n = 109), drug use practices and patterns (n = 84), social environments (n = 74), the criminal legal system (n = 28) and quality of life (n = 15). CONCLUSIONS The literature regarding older people who use illicit drugs remains under-theorized. Conceptual frameworks are rarely applied and few have been purposely adapted to this population. Health status and health services access and use are among the most frequently researched topics in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Zolopa
- Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CR-CHUM), Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Stine B Høj
- Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CR-CHUM), Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Nanor Minoyan
- Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CR-CHUM), Montréal, Québec, Canada.,Department of Social and Preventative Medicine, School of Public Health, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada
| | - Julie Bruneau
- Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CR-CHUM), Montréal, Québec, Canada.,Department of Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada
| | - Iuliia Makarenko
- Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CR-CHUM), Montréal, Québec, Canada.,Department of Family Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Québec, Canada
| | - Sarah Larney
- Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CR-CHUM), Montréal, Québec, Canada.,Department of Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada
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6
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Zhao X, Zhang F, Kandel SR, Brau F, He JJ. HIV Tat and cocaine interactively alter genome-wide DNA methylation and gene expression and exacerbate learning and memory impairments. Cell Rep 2022; 39:110765. [PMID: 35508123 PMCID: PMC9615417 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2021] [Revised: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Cocaine use is a major comorbidity of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND). In this study, we show that cocaine exposure worsens the learning and memory of doxycycline-inducible and brain-specific HIV Tat transgenic mice (iTat) and results in 14,838 hypermethylated CpG-related differentially methylated regions (DMRs) and 15,800 hypomethylated CpG-related DMRs, which are linked to 52 down- and 127 upregulated genes, respectively, in the hippocampus of iTat mice. These genes are mostly enriched at the neuronal function-, cell morphology-, and synapse formation-related extracellular matrix (ECM) receptor-ligand interaction pathway and mostly impacted in microglia. The accompanying neuropathological changes include swollen dendritic spines, increased synaptophysin expression, and diminished glial activation. We also find that sex (female) and age additively worsen the behavioral and pathological changes. These findings together indicate that chronic cocaine and long-term Tat expression interactively contribute to HAND, likely involving changes of DNA methylation and ECM receptor-ligand interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaojie Zhao
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA; Center for Cancer Cell Biology, Immunology and Infection, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA; School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
| | - Fan Zhang
- Department of Family Medicine, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, USA
| | - Suresh R Kandel
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA; Center for Cancer Cell Biology, Immunology and Infection, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA
| | - Frédéric Brau
- Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, IPMC, Sophia-Antipolis 06560, France
| | - Johnny J He
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA; Center for Cancer Cell Biology, Immunology and Infection, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA; School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA.
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7
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Wang T, Xia P, Su P. High-Dimensional DNA Methylation Mediates the Effect of Smoking on Crohn's Disease. Front Genet 2022; 13:831885. [PMID: 35450213 PMCID: PMC9016182 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.831885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Epigenome-wide mediation analysis aims to identify high-dimensional DNA methylation at cytosine–phosphate–guanine (CpG) sites that mediate the causal effect of linking smoking with Crohn’s disease (CD) outcome. Studies have shown that smoking has significant detrimental effects on the course of CD. So we assessed whether DNA methylation mediates the association between smoking and CD. Among 103 CD cases and 174 controls, we estimated whether the effects of smoking on CD are mediated through DNA methylation CpG sites, which we referred to as causal mediation effect. Based on the causal diagram, we first implemented sure independence screening (SIS) to reduce the pool of potential mediator CpGs from a very large to a moderate number; then, we implemented variable selection with de-sparsifying the LASSO regression. Finally, we carried out a comprehensive mediation analysis and conducted sensitivity analysis, which was adjusted for potential confounders of age, sex, and blood cell type proportions to estimate the mediation effects. Smoking was significantly associated with CD under odds ratio (OR) of 2.319 (95% CI: 1.603, 3.485, p < 0.001) after adjustment for confounders. Ninety-nine mediator CpGs were selected from SIS, and then, seven candidate CpGs were obtained by de-sparsifying the LASSO regression. Four of these CpGs showed statistical significance, and the average causal mediation effects (ACME) were attenuated from 0.066 to 0.126. Notably, three significant mediator CpGs had absolute sensitivity parameters of 0.40, indicating that these mediation effects were robust even when the assumptions were slightly violated. Genes (BCL3 and FKBP5) harboring these four CpGs were related to CD. These findings suggest that changes in methylation are involved in the mechanism by which smoking increases risk of CD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tingting Wang
- Institute of Medical Sciences, The Second Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Pingtian Xia
- Department of General Surgery, Qilu Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Ping Su
- Institute of Medical Sciences, The Second Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China
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8
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Doke M, Kashanchi F, Khan MA, Samikkannu T. HIV-1 Tat and cocaine coexposure impacts piRNAs to affect astrocyte energy metabolism. Epigenomics 2022; 14:261-278. [PMID: 35170353 PMCID: PMC8892230 DOI: 10.2217/epi-2021-0252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Aim: To understand the effect of HIV infection and cocaine exposure on piRNA expression in human primary astrocytes. Materials & methods: We used small RNA sequencing analysis to investigate the impacts of HIV-1 Tat and cocaine coexposure on the expression of piRNAs in human primary astrocytes. Results: We identified 27,700 piRNAs and analyzed them by small RNA next-generation sequencing. A total of 239 piRNAs were significantly altered by HIV-1 Tat and cocaine coexposure. We also identified PIWIL1, PIWIL2, PIWIL3 and PIWIL4 as interacting partners of piRNAs that were affected by cocaine and HIV-1 Tat coexposure. Epigenetic changes in the expression levels of these piRNA targets were associated with Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways of energy metabolism and neurodegeneration. Conclusion: These findings provide evidence that cocaine exposure and HIV infection affect the expression levels of piRNA, PIWIL1, PIWIL2, PIWIL3 and PIWIL4.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mayur Doke
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Kingsville, TX 78363, USA
| | - Fatah Kashanchi
- National Center for Biodefense & Infectious Disease, Laboratory of Molecular Virology, George Mason University, Manassas, VA 20110, USA
| | - Mansoor A Khan
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Kingsville, TX 78363, USA
| | - Thangavel Samikkannu
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Kingsville, TX 78363, USA,Author for correspondence: Tel.: +1 361 221 0750;
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9
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Titanji BK, Gwinn M, Marconi VC, Sun YV. Epigenome-wide epidemiologic studies of human immunodeficiency virus infection, treatment, and disease progression. Clin Epigenetics 2022; 14:8. [PMID: 35016709 PMCID: PMC8750639 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-022-01230-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite significant advances in the treatment and care of people with HIV (PWH), several challenges remain in our understanding of disease pathogenesis to improve patient care. HIV infection can modify the host epigenome and as such can impact disease progression, as well as the molecular processes driving non-AIDS comorbidities in PWH. Epigenetic epidemiologic studies including epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) offer a unique set of tools to expand our understanding of HIV disease and to identify novel strategies applicable to treatment and diagnosis in this patient population. In this review, we summarize the current state of knowledge from epigenetic epidemiologic studies of PWH, identify the main challenges of this approach, and highlight future directions for the field. Emerging epigenetic epidemiologic studies of PWH can expand our understanding of HIV infection and health outcomes, improve scientific validity through collaboration and replication, and increase the coverage of diverse populations affected by the global HIV pandemic. Through this review, we hope to highlight the potential of EWAS as a tool for HIV research and to engage more investigators to explore its application to important research questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boghuma K Titanji
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Marta Gwinn
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road NE #3049, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Vincent C Marconi
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.,Atlanta Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Decatur, GA, USA.,Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, GA, USA.,Emory Vaccine Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Yan V Sun
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road NE #3049, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA. .,Atlanta Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Decatur, GA, USA.
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10
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Corley MJ, Pang APS, Rasmussen TA, Tolstrup M, Søgaard OS, Ndhlovu LC. Candidate host epigenetic marks predictive for HIV reservoir size, responsiveness to latency reversal, and viral rebound. AIDS 2021; 35:2269-2279. [PMID: 34482353 PMCID: PMC8563431 DOI: 10.1097/qad.0000000000003065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study aimed to identify candidate host epigenetic biomarkers predicting latency reversal agents (LRA) efficacy and HIV-1 rebound kinetics during analytical treatment interruption (ATI). DESIGN Retrospective longitudinal epigenetic profiling study from 13 people with HIV (PWH) on virologically suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART) that participated in a LRA (HDAC inhibitor) clinical trial (NCT01680094) and a subsequent optional ATI to monitor for viral recrudescence after ART cessation. METHODS Genome-wide DNA methylation (DNAm) in purified CD4+ T cells was measured at single-nucleotide resolution using the Infinium MethylationEPIC array. HIV-1 DNA and RNA measures were previously assessed by PCR-based methods and the association of DNAm levels at regulatory sites of the human genome were examined with reservoir size, responsiveness to LRA, and time to viral rebound following ATI. RESULTS A distinct set of 15 candidate DNAm sites in purified CD4+ T cells at baseline pre-LRA and pre-ATI significantly correlated with time to viral rebound. Eight of these DNAm sites occurred in genes linked to HIV-1 replication dynamics including (SEPSECS, cg19113954), (MALT1, cg15968021), (CPT1C, cg14318858), (CRTAM, cg10977115), (B4GALNT4, cg04663285), (IL10, cg16284789), (TFPI2, cg19645693), and (LIFR, cg26437306); with the remaining sites at intergenic regions containing regulatory elements. Moreover, baseline DNAm states related to total HIV-1 DNA levels and the fold change in unspliced cell-associated HIV RNA following LRA treatment. CONCLUSION Preexisting host epigenetic states may determine HIV-1 rebound kinetics and reservoir maintenance. These findings suggest integrating a suite of DNA methylation markers to improve optimal participant selection and drug regimen in future HIV cure clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. Corley
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City, New York, USA
| | - Alina PS Pang
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City, New York, USA
| | - Thomas A. Rasmussen
- The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Martin Tolstrup
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Ole S. Søgaard
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Lishomwa C. Ndhlovu
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City, New York, USA
- Department of Tropical Medicine, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii
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11
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Fujii R, Sato S, Tsuboi Y, Cardenas A, Suzuki K. DNA methylation as a mediator of associations between the environment and chronic diseases: A scoping review on application of mediation analysis. Epigenetics 2021; 17:759-785. [PMID: 34384035 DOI: 10.1080/15592294.2021.1959736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA methylation (DNAm) is one of the most studied epigenetic modifications. DNAm has emerged as a key biological mechanism and biomarkers to test associations between environmental exposure and outcomes in epidemiological studies. Although previous studies have focused on associations between DNAm and either exposure/outcomes, it is useful to test for mediation of the association between exposure and outcome by DNAm. The purpose of this scoping review is to introduce the methodological essence of statistical mediation analysis and to examine emerging epidemiological research applying mediation analyses. We conducted this scoping review for published peer-reviewed journals on this topic using online databases (PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and CINAHL) ending in December 2020. We extracted a total of 219 articles by initial screening. After reviewing titles, abstracts, and full texts, a total of 69 articles were eligible for this review. The breakdown of studies assigned to each category was 13 for smoking (18.8%), 8 for dietary intake and famine (11.6%), 6 for other lifestyle factors (8.7%), 8 for clinical endpoints (11.6%), 22 for environmental chemical exposures (31.9%), 2 for socioeconomic status (SES) (2.9%), and 10 for genetic factors and race (14.5%). In this review, we provide an exposure-wide summary for the mediation analysis using DNAm levels. However, we found heterogenous methods and interpretations in mediation analysis with typical issues such as different cell compositions and tissue-specificity. Further accumulation of evidence with diverse exposures, populations and with rigorous methodology will be expected to provide further insight in the role of DNAm in disease susceptibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryosuke Fujii
- Department of Preventive Medical Sciences, Fujita Health University School of Medical Sciences, Toyoake, Japan
| | - Shuntaro Sato
- Clinical Research Center, Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Yoshiki Tsuboi
- Department of Preventive Medical Sciences, Fujita Health University School of Medical Sciences, Toyoake, Japan
| | - Andres Cardenas
- Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health and Center for Computational Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California, US
| | - Koji Suzuki
- Department of Preventive Medical Sciences, Fujita Health University School of Medical Sciences, Toyoake, Japan
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