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Lafontaine N, Shore CJ, Campbell PJ, Mullin BH, Brown SJ, Panicker V, Dudbridge F, Brix TH, Hegedüs L, Wilson SG, Bell JT, Walsh JP. Epigenome-wide Association Study Shows Differential DNA Methylation of MDC1, KLF9, and CUTA in Autoimmune Thyroid Disease. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2024; 109:992-999. [PMID: 37962983 PMCID: PMC10940258 DOI: 10.1210/clinem/dgad659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Revised: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
CONTEXT Autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) includes Graves disease (GD) and Hashimoto disease (HD), which often run in the same family. AITD etiology is incompletely understood: Genetic factors may account for up to 75% of phenotypic variance, whereas epigenetic effects (including DNA methylation [DNAm]) may contribute to the remaining variance (eg, why some individuals develop GD and others HD). OBJECTIVE This work aimed to identify differentially methylated positions (DMPs) and differentially methylated regions (DMRs) comparing GD to HD. METHODS Whole-blood DNAm was measured across the genome using the Infinium MethylationEPIC array in 32 Australian patients with GD and 30 with HD (discovery cohort) and 32 Danish patients with GD and 32 with HD (replication cohort). Linear mixed models were used to test for differences in quantile-normalized β values of DNAm between GD and HD and data were later meta-analyzed. Comb-p software was used to identify DMRs. RESULTS We identified epigenome-wide significant differences (P < 9E-8) and replicated (P < .05) 2 DMPs between GD and HD (cg06315208 within MDC1 and cg00049440 within KLF9). We identified and replicated a DMR within CUTA (5 CpGs at 6p21.32). We also identified 64 DMPs and 137 DMRs in the meta-analysis. CONCLUSION Our study reveals differences in DNAm between GD and HD, which may help explain why some people develop GD and others HD and provide a link to environmental risk factors. Additional research is needed to advance understanding of the role of DNAm in AITD and investigate its prognostic and therapeutic potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Lafontaine
- Department of Endocrinology & Diabetes, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, WA, 6009, Australia
- Medical School, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Christopher J Shore
- Department of Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, London, SE1 7EH, UK
| | - Purdey J Campbell
- Department of Endocrinology & Diabetes, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Benjamin H Mullin
- Department of Endocrinology & Diabetes, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, WA, 6009, Australia
- School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, 6009, Australia
| | - Suzanne J Brown
- Department of Endocrinology & Diabetes, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Vijay Panicker
- Department of Endocrinology & Diabetes, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, WA, 6009, Australia
- Medical School, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Frank Dudbridge
- Population Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK
| | - Thomas H Brix
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Odense University Hospital, Odense, 5000, Denmark
| | - Laszlo Hegedüs
- Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Odense University Hospital, Odense, 5000, Denmark
| | - Scott G Wilson
- Department of Endocrinology & Diabetes, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, WA, 6009, Australia
- Department of Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, London, SE1 7EH, UK
- School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, 6009, Australia
| | - Jordana T Bell
- Department of Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, London, SE1 7EH, UK
| | - John P Walsh
- Department of Endocrinology & Diabetes, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, WA, 6009, Australia
- Medical School, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
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Lange de Luna J, Nounu A, Neumeyer S, Sinke L, Wilson R, Hellbach F, Matías-García PR, Delerue T, Winkelmann J, Peters A, Thorand B, Beekman M, Heijmans BT, Slagboom E, Gieger C, Linseisen J, Waldenberger M. Epigenome-wide association study of dietary fatty acid intake. Clin Epigenetics 2024; 16:29. [PMID: 38365790 PMCID: PMC10874013 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-024-01643-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/18/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dietary intake of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) may have a protective effect on the development of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, depression and cancer, while a high intake of n-6 PUFA was often reported to be associated with inflammation-related traits. The effect of PUFAs on health outcomes might be mediated by DNA methylation (DNAm). The aim of our study is to identify the impact of PUFA intake on DNAm in the Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg (KORA) FF4 cohort and the Leiden Longevity Study (LLS). RESULTS DNA methylation levels were measured in whole blood from the population-based KORA FF4 study (N = 1354) and LLS (N = 448), using the Illumina MethylationEPIC BeadChip and Illumina HumanMethylation450 array, respectively. We assessed associations between DNAm and intake of eight and four PUFAs in KORA and LLS, respectively. Where possible, results were meta-analyzed. Below the Bonferroni correction threshold (p < 7.17 × 10-8), we identified two differentially methylated positions (DMPs) associated with PUFA intake in the KORA study. The DMP cg19937480, annotated to gene PRDX1, was positively associated with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in model 1 (beta: 2.00 × 10-5, 95%CI: 1.28 × 10-5-2.73 × 10-5, P value: 6.98 × 10-8), while cg05041783, annotated to gene MARK2, was positively associated with docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) in our fully adjusted model (beta: 9.80 × 10-5, 95%CI: 6.25 × 10-5-1.33 × 10-4, P value: 6.75 × 10-8). In the meta-analysis, we identified the CpG site (cg15951061), annotated to gene CDCA7L below Bonferroni correction (1.23 × 10-7) associated with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) intake in model 1 (beta: 2.00 × 10-5, 95% CI: 1.27 × 10-5-2.73 × 10-5, P value = 5.99 × 10-8) and we confirmed the association of cg19937480 with DHA in both models 1 and 2 (beta: 2.07 × 10-5, 95% CI: 1.31 × 10-5-2.83 × 10-5, P value = 1.00 × 10-7 and beta: 2.19 × 10-5, 95% CI: 1.41 × 10-5-2.97 × 10-5, P value = 5.91 × 10-8 respectively). CONCLUSIONS Our study identified three CpG sites associated with PUFA intake. The mechanisms of these sites remain largely unexplored, highlighting the novelty of our findings. Further research is essential to understand the links between CpG site methylation and PUFA outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Lange de Luna
- Research Unit Molecular Epidemiology, Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry and Epidemiology-IBE, LMU Munich, 80539, Munich, Germany
| | - Aayah Nounu
- Research Unit Molecular Epidemiology, Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Sonja Neumeyer
- Research Unit Molecular Epidemiology, Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Lucy Sinke
- Molecular Epidemiology, Department of Biomedical Data Science, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Rory Wilson
- Research Unit Molecular Epidemiology, Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Fabian Hellbach
- Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Augsburg, University Hospital of Augsburg, 86156, Augsburg, Germany
- Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry and Epidemiology-IBE, LMU Munich, 80539, Munich, Germany
| | - Pamela R Matías-García
- Research Unit Molecular Epidemiology, Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Thomas Delerue
- Research Unit Molecular Epidemiology, Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Juliane Winkelmann
- Institute of Neurogenomics, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
- Klinikum Rechts Der Isar, Chair Neurogenetics, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Klinikum Rechts Der Isar, Institute of Human Genetics, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Annette Peters
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry and Epidemiology-IBE, LMU Munich, 80539, Munich, Germany
| | - Barbara Thorand
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry and Epidemiology-IBE, LMU Munich, 80539, Munich, Germany
| | - Marian Beekman
- Molecular Epidemiology, Department of Biomedical Data Science, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Bastiaan T Heijmans
- Molecular Epidemiology, Department of Biomedical Data Science, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Eline Slagboom
- Molecular Epidemiology, Department of Biomedical Data Science, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Christian Gieger
- Research Unit Molecular Epidemiology, Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Jakob Linseisen
- Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Augsburg, University Hospital of Augsburg, 86156, Augsburg, Germany
- Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry and Epidemiology-IBE, LMU Munich, 80539, Munich, Germany
| | - Melanie Waldenberger
- Research Unit Molecular Epidemiology, Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany.
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany.
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Chou PC, Huang YC, Yu S. Mechanisms of Epigenetic Inheritance in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Life (Basel) 2024; 14:98. [PMID: 38255713 PMCID: PMC10817356 DOI: 10.3390/life14010098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that causes debilitating functional impairment in patients. Observations from survivors of traumatic historical events solidify that this disease is not only associated with personal experiences but can also be inherited from familial traumas. Over the past decades, researchers have focused on epigenetic inheritance to understand how responses to adverse experiences can be passed down to future generations. This review aims to present recent findings on epigenetic markers related to PTSD and research in the intergenerational inheritance of trauma. By understanding the information, we hope that epigenetic markers can act as biochemical measurements for future clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pei-Chen Chou
- School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan;
| | - Yu-Chi Huang
- Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung 83301, Taiwan;
| | - Sebastian Yu
- Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan
- Department of Dermatology, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 80756, Taiwan
- Master of Public Health Degree Program, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
- Neuroscience Research Center, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan
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Drzymalla E, Crider KS, Wang A, Marta G, Khoury MJ, Rasooly D. Epigenome-wide association studies of prenatal maternal mental health and infant epigenetic profiles: a systematic review. Transl Psychiatry 2023; 13:377. [PMID: 38062042 PMCID: PMC10703876 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02620-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Revised: 10/01/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Prenatal stress and poor maternal mental health are associated with adverse offspring outcomes; however, the biological mechanisms are unknown. Epigenetic modification has linked maternal health with offspring development. Epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) have examined offspring DNA methylation profiles for association with prenatal maternal mental health to elucidate mechanisms of these complex relationships. The objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive, systematic review of EWASs of infant epigenetic profiles and prenatal maternal anxiety, depression, or depression treatment. We conducted a systematic literature search following PRISMA guidelines for EWAS studies between prenatal maternal mental health and infant epigenetics through May 22, 2023. Of 645 identified articles, 20 fulfilled inclusion criteria. We assessed replication of CpG sites among studies, conducted gene enrichment analysis, and evaluated the articles for quality and risk of bias. We found one repeated CpG site among the maternal depression studies; however, nine pairs of overlapping differentially methylatd regions were reported in at least two maternal depression studies. Gene enrichment analysis found significant pathways for maternal depression but not for any other maternal mental health category. We found evidence that these EWAS present a medium to high risk of bias. Exposure to prenatal maternal depression and anxiety or treatment for such was not consistently associated with epigenetic changes in infants in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Small sample size, potential bias due to exposure misclassification and statistical challenges are critical to address in future efforts to explore epigenetic modification as a potential mechanism by which prenatal exposure to maternal mental health disorders leads to adverse infant outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Drzymalla
- Division of Blood Disorders and Public Health Genomics, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
| | - Krista S Crider
- Infant Outcomes Research and Prevention Branch, Division of Birth Defects and Infant Disorders, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Arick Wang
- Infant Outcomes Research and Prevention Branch, Division of Birth Defects and Infant Disorders, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | | | - Muin J Khoury
- Division of Blood Disorders and Public Health Genomics, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Danielle Rasooly
- Division of Blood Disorders and Public Health Genomics, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
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5
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Guo H, Cao P, Wang C, Lai J, Deng Y, Li C, Hao Y, Wu Z, Chen R, Qiang Q, Fernie AR, Yang J, Wang S. Population analysis reveals the roles of DNA methylation in tomato domestication and metabolic diversity. Sci China Life Sci 2023; 66:1888-1902. [PMID: 36971992 DOI: 10.1007/s11427-022-2299-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
Abstract
DNA methylation is an important epigenetic marker, yet its diversity and consequences in tomato breeding at the population level are largely unknown. We performed whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS), RNA sequencing, and metabolic profiling on a population comprising wild tomatoes, landraces, and cultivars. A total of 8,375 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were identified, with methylation levels progressively decreasing from domestication to improvement. We found that over 20% of DMRs overlapped with selective sweeps. Moreover, more than 80% of DMRs in tomato were not significantly associated with single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and DMRs had strong linkages with adjacent SNPs. We additionally profiled 339 metabolites from 364 diverse accessions and further performed a metabolic association study based on SNPs and DMRs. We detected 971 and 711 large-effect loci via SNP and DMR markers, respectively. Combined with multi-omics, we identified 13 candidate genes and updated the polyphenol biosynthetic pathway. Our results showed that DNA methylation variants could complement SNP profiling of metabolite diversity. Our study thus provides a DNA methylome map across diverse accessions and suggests that DNA methylation variation can be the genetic basis of metabolic diversity in plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Guo
- Sanya Nanfan Research Institute of Hainan University, Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Sanya, 572025, China
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, 572208, China
| | - Peng Cao
- Sanya Nanfan Research Institute of Hainan University, Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Sanya, 572025, China
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, 572208, China
| | - Chao Wang
- Sanya Nanfan Research Institute of Hainan University, Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Sanya, 572025, China
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, 572208, China
| | - Jun Lai
- Sanya Nanfan Research Institute of Hainan University, Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Sanya, 572025, China
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, 572208, China
| | - Yuan Deng
- Sanya Nanfan Research Institute of Hainan University, Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Sanya, 572025, China
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, 572208, China
| | - Chun Li
- Sanya Nanfan Research Institute of Hainan University, Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Sanya, 572025, China
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, 572208, China
| | - Yingchen Hao
- Sanya Nanfan Research Institute of Hainan University, Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Sanya, 572025, China
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, 572208, China
| | - Zeyong Wu
- Sanya Nanfan Research Institute of Hainan University, Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Sanya, 572025, China
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, 572208, China
| | - Ridong Chen
- Sanya Nanfan Research Institute of Hainan University, Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Sanya, 572025, China
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, 572208, China
| | - Qi Qiang
- Sanya Nanfan Research Institute of Hainan University, Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Sanya, 572025, China
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, 572208, China
| | - Alisdair R Fernie
- Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam-Golm, 144776, Germany
| | - Jun Yang
- Sanya Nanfan Research Institute of Hainan University, Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Sanya, 572025, China
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, 572208, China
| | - Shouchuang Wang
- Sanya Nanfan Research Institute of Hainan University, Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory, Sanya, 572025, China.
- College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, 572208, China.
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Ciochetti NP, Lugli-Moraes B, da Silva BS, Rovaris DL. Genome-wide association studies: utility and limitations for research in physiology. J Physiol 2023; 601:2771-2799. [PMID: 37208942 PMCID: PMC10527550 DOI: 10.1113/jp284241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 05/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Physiological systems are subject to interindividual variation encoded by genetics. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) operate by surveying thousands of genetic variants from a substantial number of individuals and assessing their association to a trait of interest, be it a physiological variable, a molecular phenotype (e.g. gene expression), or even a disease or condition. Through a myriad of methods, GWAS downstream analyses then explore the functional consequences of each variant and attempt to ascertain a causal relationship to the phenotype of interest, as well as to delve into its links to other traits. This type of investigation allows mechanistic insights into physiological functions, pathological disturbances and shared biological processes between traits (i.e. pleiotropy). An exciting example is the discovery of a new thyroid hormone transporter (SLC17A4) and hormone metabolising enzyme (AADAT) from a GWAS on free thyroxine levels. Therefore, GWAS have substantially contributed with insights into physiology and have been shown to be useful in unveiling the genetic control underlying complex traits and pathological conditions; they will continue to do so with global collaborations and advances in genotyping technology. Finally, the increasing number of trans-ancestry GWAS and initiatives to include ancestry diversity in genomics will boost the power for discoveries, making them also applicable to non-European populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Pereira Ciochetti
- Laboratory of Physiological Genomics of Mental Health (PhysioGen Lab), Instituto de Ciencias Biomedicas Universidade de Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Beatriz Lugli-Moraes
- Laboratory of Physiological Genomics of Mental Health (PhysioGen Lab), Instituto de Ciencias Biomedicas Universidade de Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Bruna Santos da Silva
- Laboratory of Physiological Genomics of Mental Health (PhysioGen Lab), Instituto de Ciencias Biomedicas Universidade de Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Laboratory of Developmental Psychiatry, Center of Experimental Research, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Diego Luiz Rovaris
- Laboratory of Physiological Genomics of Mental Health (PhysioGen Lab), Instituto de Ciencias Biomedicas Universidade de Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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7
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Hillary RF, McCartney DL, Smith HM, Bernabeu E, Gadd DA, Chybowska AD, Cheng Y, Murphy L, Wrobel N, Campbell A, Walker RM, Hayward C, Evans KL, McIntosh AM, Marioni RE. Blood-based epigenome-wide analyses of 19 common disease states: A longitudinal, population-based linked cohort study of 18,413 Scottish individuals. PLoS Med 2023; 20:e1004247. [PMID: 37410739 PMCID: PMC10325072 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND DNA methylation is a dynamic epigenetic mechanism that occurs at cytosine-phosphate-guanine dinucleotide (CpG) sites. Epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) investigate the strength of association between methylation at individual CpG sites and health outcomes. Although blood methylation may act as a peripheral marker of common disease states, previous EWAS have typically focused only on individual conditions and have had limited power to discover disease-associated loci. This study examined the association of blood DNA methylation with the prevalence of 14 disease states and the incidence of 19 disease states in a single population of over 18,000 Scottish individuals. METHODS AND FINDINGS DNA methylation was assayed at 752,722 CpG sites in whole-blood samples from 18,413 volunteers in the family-structured, population-based cohort study Generation Scotland (age range 18 to 99 years). EWAS tested for cross-sectional associations between baseline CpG methylation and 14 prevalent disease states, and for longitudinal associations between baseline CpG methylation and 19 incident disease states. Prevalent cases were self-reported on health questionnaires at the baseline. Incident cases were identified using linkage to Scottish primary (Read 2) and secondary (ICD-10) care records, and the censoring date was set to October 2020. The mean time-to-diagnosis ranged from 5.0 years (for chronic pain) to 11.7 years (for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) hospitalisation). The 19 disease states considered in this study were selected if they were present on the World Health Organisation's 10 leading causes of death and disease burden or included in baseline self-report questionnaires. EWAS models were adjusted for age at methylation typing, sex, estimated white blood cell composition, population structure, and 5 common lifestyle risk factors. A structured literature review was also conducted to identify existing EWAS for all 19 disease states tested. The MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and preprint servers were searched to retrieve relevant articles indexed as of March 27, 2023. Fifty-four of approximately 2,000 indexed articles met our inclusion criteria: assayed blood-based DNA methylation, had >20 individuals in each comparison group, and examined one of the 19 conditions considered. First, we assessed whether the associations identified in our study were reported in previous studies. We identified 69 associations between CpGs and the prevalence of 4 conditions, of which 58 were newly described. The conditions were breast cancer, chronic kidney disease, ischemic heart disease, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. We also uncovered 64 CpGs that associated with the incidence of 2 disease states (COPD and type 2 diabetes), of which 56 were not reported in the surveyed literature. Second, we assessed replication across existing studies, which was defined as the reporting of at least 1 common site in >2 studies that examined the same condition. Only 6/19 disease states had evidence of such replication. The limitations of this study include the nonconsideration of medication data and a potential lack of generalizability to individuals that are not of Scottish and European ancestry. CONCLUSIONS We discovered over 100 associations between blood methylation sites and common disease states, independently of major confounding risk factors, and a need for greater standardisation among EWAS on human disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert F. Hillary
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel L. McCartney
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Hannah M. Smith
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Elena Bernabeu
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Danni A. Gadd
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Aleksandra D. Chybowska
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Yipeng Cheng
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Lee Murphy
- Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Nicola Wrobel
- Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Archie Campbell
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Rosie M. Walker
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Caroline Hayward
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Kathryn L. Evans
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew M. McIntosh
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Riccardo E. Marioni
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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8
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Bell-Glenn S, Salas LA, Molinaro AM, Butler RA, Christensen BC, Kelsey KT, Wiencke JK, Koestler DC. Calculating detection limits and uncertainty of reference-based deconvolution of whole-blood DNA methylation data. Epigenomics 2023; 15:435-451. [PMID: 37337720 PMCID: PMC10308256 DOI: 10.2217/epi-2023-0006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/21/2023] Open
Abstract
DNA methylation (DNAm)-based cell mixture deconvolution (CMD) has become a quintessential part of epigenome-wide association studies where DNAm is profiled in heterogeneous tissue types. Despite being introduced over a decade ago, detection limits, which represent the smallest fraction of a cell type in a mixed biospecimen that can be reliably detected, have yet to be determined in the context of DNAm-based CMD. Moreover, there has been little attention given to approaches for quantifying the uncertainty associated with DNAm-based CMD. Here, analytical frameworks for determining both cell-specific limits of detection and quantification of uncertainty associated with DNAm-based CMD are described. This work may contribute to improved rigor, reproducibility and replicability of epigenome-wide association studies involving CMD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shelby Bell-Glenn
- Department of Biostatistics & Data Science, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA
| | - Lucas A Salas
- Department of Epidemiology, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03756, USA
| | - Annette M Molinaro
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Rondi A Butler
- Departments of Epidemiology & Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Brock C Christensen
- Department of Epidemiology, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03756, USA
- Department of Molecular & Systems Biology, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA
- Department of Community & Family Medicine, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA
| | - Karl T Kelsey
- Departments of Epidemiology & Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - John K Wiencke
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
- Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Devin C Koestler
- Department of Biostatistics & Data Science, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA
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9
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Abstract
Graves disease and Hashimoto disease form part of the spectrum of autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD), to which genetic and environmental factors are recognized contributors. Epigenetics provides a potential link between environmental influences, gene expression, and thyroid autoimmunity. DNA methylation (DNAm) is the best studied epigenetic process, and global hypomethylation of leukocyte DNA is reported in several autoimmune disorders. This review summarizes the current understanding of DNAm in AITD. Targeted DNAm studies of blood samples from AITD patients have reported differential DNAm in the promoter regions of several genes implicated in AITD, including TNF, IFNG, IL2RA, IL6, ICAM1, and PTPN22. In many cases, however, the findings await replication and are unsupported by functional studies to support causal roles in AITD pathogenesis. Furthermore, thyroid hormones affect DNAm, and in many studies confounding by reverse causation has not been considered. Recent studies have shown that DNAm patterns in candidate genes including ITGA6, PRKAA2, and DAPK1 differ between AITD patients from regions with different iodine status, providing a potential mechanism for associations between iodine and AITD. Research focus in the field is moving from candidate gene studies to an epigenome-wide approach. Genome-wide methylation studies of AITD patients have demonstrated multiple differentially methylated positions, including some in immunoregulatory genes such as NOTCH1, HLA-DRB1, TNF, and ICAM1. Large, epigenome-wide studies are required to elucidate the pathophysiological role of DNAm in AITD, with the potential to provide novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers as well as therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Lafontaine
- Department of Endocrinology & Diabetes, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia
- Medical School, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Scott G Wilson
- Department of Endocrinology & Diabetes, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia
- School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - John P Walsh
- Department of Endocrinology & Diabetes, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia
- Medical School, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia
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10
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Carss KJ, Deaton AM, Del Rio-Espinola A, Diogo D, Fielden M, Kulkarni DA, Moggs J, Newham P, Nelson MR, Sistare FD, Ward LD, Yuan J. Using human genetics to improve safety assessment of therapeutics. Nat Rev Drug Discov 2023; 22:145-162. [PMID: 36261593 DOI: 10.1038/s41573-022-00561-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Human genetics research has discovered thousands of proteins associated with complex and rare diseases. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and studies of Mendelian disease have resulted in an increased understanding of the role of gene function and regulation in human conditions. Although the application of human genetics has been explored primarily as a method to identify potential drug targets and support their relevance to disease in humans, there is increasing interest in using genetic data to identify potential safety liabilities of modulating a given target. Human genetic variants can be used as a model to anticipate the effect of lifelong modulation of therapeutic targets and identify the potential risk for on-target adverse events. This approach is particularly useful for non-clinical safety evaluation of novel therapeutics that lack pharmacologically relevant animal models and can contribute to the intrinsic safety profile of a drug target. This Review illustrates applications of human genetics to safety studies during drug discovery and development, including assessing the potential for on- and off-target associated adverse events, carcinogenicity risk assessment, and guiding translational safety study designs and monitoring strategies. A summary of available human genetic resources and recommended best practices is provided. The challenges and future perspectives of translating human genetic information to identify risks for potential drug effects in preclinical and clinical development are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Aimee M Deaton
- Amgen, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Alberto Del Rio-Espinola
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Basel, Switzerland.,GentiBio Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Mark Fielden
- Amgen, Thousand Oaks, MA, USA.,Kate Therapeutics, San Diego, CA, USA
| | | | - Jonathan Moggs
- Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Basel, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Frank D Sistare
- Merck & Co., West Point, PA, USA.,315 Meadowmont Ln, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Lucas D Ward
- Amgen, Cambridge, MA, USA. .,Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Jing Yuan
- Amgen, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Pfizer, Cambridge, MA, USA
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11
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Wang K, Wang S, Ji X, Chen D, Shen Q, Yu Y, Wu P, Li X, Tang G. Epigenome-wide association studies of meat traits in Chinese Yorkshire pigs highlights several DNA methylation loci and genes. Front Genet 2023; 13:1028711. [PMID: 36685918 PMCID: PMC9845630 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.1028711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
In this study, we aimed to identified CpG sites at which DNA methylation levels are associated with meat quality traits in 140 Yorkshire pigs, including pH at 45 min (pH45min), pH at 24 h (pH24h), drip loss (DL), meat redness value (a*), yellowness (b*) and lightness (L*). Genome-wide methylation levels were measured in muscular tissue using reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS). Associations between DNA methylation levels and meat quality traits were examined using linear mixed-effect models that were adjusted for gender, year, month and body weight. A Bonferroni-corrected p-value lower than 7.79 × 10 - 8 was considered statistically significant threshold. Eight CpG sites were associated with DL, including CpG sites annotated to RBM4 gene (cpg301054, cpg301055, cpg301058, cpg301059, cpg301066, cpg301072 and cpg301073) and NCAM1 gene (cpg1802985). Two CpG sites were associated with b*, including RNFT1 and MED13 (cpg2272837) and TRIM37 gene (cpg2270611). Five CpG sites were associated with L*, including GSDMA and LRRC3C gene (cpg2252750) and ENSSSCG00000043539 and IRX1 gene (cpg2820178, cpg2820179, cpg2820181 and cpg2820182). No significant associations were observed with pH45min, pH24h or a*. We reported associations of meat quality traits with DNA methylation and identified some candidate genes associated with these traits, such as NCAM1, MED13 and TRIM37 gene. These results provide new insight into the epigenetic molecular mechanisms of meat quality traits in pigs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Wang
- Farm Animal Genetic Resources Exploration and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Shujie Wang
- Farm Animal Genetic Resources Exploration and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiang Ji
- Farm Animal Genetic Resources Exploration and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Dong Chen
- Farm Animal Genetic Resources Exploration and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Qi Shen
- Farm Animal Genetic Resources Exploration and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yang Yu
- Farm Animal Genetic Resources Exploration and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Pingxian Wu
- Farm Animal Genetic Resources Exploration and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China,Chongqing Academy of Animal Science, Chongqing, China
| | - Xuewei Li
- Farm Animal Genetic Resources Exploration and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Guoqing Tang
- Farm Animal Genetic Resources Exploration and Innovation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China,*Correspondence: Guoqing Tang,
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Kuramoto J, Arai E, Fujimoto M, Tian Y, Yamada Y, Yotani T, Makiuchi S, Tsuda N, Ojima H, Fukai M, Seki Y, Kasama K, Funahashi N, Udagawa H, Nammo T, Yasuda K, Taketomi A, Kanto T, Kanai Y. Quantification of DNA methylation for carcinogenic risk estimation in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Clin Epigenetics 2022; 14:168. [PMID: 36471401 PMCID: PMC9724255 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-022-01379-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In recent years, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) has become the main cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). As a means of improving the treatment of NASH-related HCCs based on early detection, this study investigated the feasibility of carcinogenic risk estimation in patients with NASH. RESULTS Normal liver tissue (NLT), non-cancerous liver tissue showing histological findings compatible with non-alcoholic fatty liver from patients without HCC (NAFL-O), non-cancerous liver tissue showing NASH from patients without HCC (NASH-O), non-cancerous liver tissue showing non-alcoholic fatty liver from patients with HCC (NAFL-W), non-cancerous liver tissue showing NASH from patients with HCC (NASH-W) and NASH-related HCC were analyzed. An initial cohort of 171 tissue samples and a validation cohort of 55 tissue samples were used. Genome-wide DNA methylation screening using the Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip and DNA methylation quantification using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a newly developed anion-exchange column were performed. Based on the Infinium assay, 4050 CpG sites showed alterations of DNA methylation in NASH-W samples relative to NLT samples. Such alterations at the precancerous NASH stage were inherited by or strengthened in HCC samples. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis identified 415 CpG sites discriminating NASH-W from NLT samples with area under the curve values of more than 0.95. Among them, we focused on 21 CpG sites showing more than 85% specificity, even for discrimination of NASH-W from NASH-O samples. The DNA methylation status of these 21 CpG sites was able to predict the coincidence of HCC independently from histopathological findings such as ballooning and fibrosis stage. The methylation status of 5 candidate marker CpG sites was assessed using a HPLC-based system, and for 3 of them sufficient sensitivity and specificity were successfully validated in the validation cohort. By combining these 3 CpG sites including the ZC3H3 gene, NAFL-W and NASH-W samples from which HCCs had already arisen were confirmed to show carcinogenic risk with 95% sensitivity in the validation cohort. CONCLUSIONS After a further prospective validation study using a larger cohort, carcinogenic risk estimation in liver biopsy specimens of patients with NASH may become clinically applicable using this HPLC-based system for quantification of DNA methylation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junko Kuramoto
- grid.26091.3c0000 0004 1936 9959Department of Pathology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, 160-8582 Japan
| | - Eri Arai
- grid.26091.3c0000 0004 1936 9959Department of Pathology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, 160-8582 Japan
| | - Mao Fujimoto
- grid.26091.3c0000 0004 1936 9959Department of Pathology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, 160-8582 Japan
| | - Ying Tian
- grid.26091.3c0000 0004 1936 9959Department of Pathology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, 160-8582 Japan
| | - Yuriko Yamada
- grid.471315.50000 0004 1770 184XTsukuba Research Institute, Research and Development Division, Sekisui Medical Co., Ltd., Ryugasaki, 301-0852 Japan
| | - Takuya Yotani
- grid.471315.50000 0004 1770 184XTsukuba Research Institute, Research and Development Division, Sekisui Medical Co., Ltd., Ryugasaki, 301-0852 Japan
| | - Satomi Makiuchi
- grid.26091.3c0000 0004 1936 9959Department of Pathology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, 160-8582 Japan
| | - Noboru Tsuda
- grid.26091.3c0000 0004 1936 9959Department of Pathology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, 160-8582 Japan
| | - Hidenori Ojima
- grid.26091.3c0000 0004 1936 9959Department of Pathology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, 160-8582 Japan
| | - Moto Fukai
- grid.39158.360000 0001 2173 7691Department of Gastroenterological Surgery I, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-8638 Japan
| | - Yosuke Seki
- grid.505804.c0000 0004 1775 1986Weight Loss and Metabolic Surgery Center, Yotsuya Medical Cube, Tokyo, 102-0084 Japan
| | - Kazunori Kasama
- grid.505804.c0000 0004 1775 1986Weight Loss and Metabolic Surgery Center, Yotsuya Medical Cube, Tokyo, 102-0084 Japan
| | - Nobuaki Funahashi
- grid.32197.3e0000 0001 2179 2105Department of Life Science and Technology, School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, 226-8501 Japan
| | - Haruhide Udagawa
- grid.411205.30000 0000 9340 2869Department of Biochemistry, Kyorin University School of Medicine, Tokyo, 181-8611 Japan
| | - Takao Nammo
- grid.136593.b0000 0004 0373 3971Department of Metabolic Medicine and Department of Diabetes Care Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, 565-0871 Japan
| | - Kazuki Yasuda
- grid.411205.30000 0000 9340 2869Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Kyorin University School of Medicine, Tokyo, 181-8611 Japan ,grid.45203.300000 0004 0489 0290Diabetes Research Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, 162-8655 Japan
| | - Akinobu Taketomi
- grid.39158.360000 0001 2173 7691Department of Gastroenterological Surgery I, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-8638 Japan
| | - Tatsuya Kanto
- grid.45203.300000 0004 0489 0290The Research Center for Hepatitis and Immunology, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Ichikawa, 272-8516 Japan
| | - Yae Kanai
- grid.26091.3c0000 0004 1936 9959Department of Pathology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, 160-8582 Japan
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13
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Coit P, Roopnarinesingh X, Ortiz-Fernández L, McKinnon-Maksimowicz K, Lewis EE, Merrill JT, McCune WJ, Wren JD, Sawalha AH. Hypomethylation of miR-17-92 cluster in lupus T cells and no significant role for genetic factors in the lupus-associated DNA methylation signature. Ann Rheum Dis 2022; 81:1428-1437. [PMID: 35710306 PMCID: PMC10259175 DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2022-222656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Lupus T cells demonstrate aberrant DNA methylation patterns dominated by hypomethylation of interferon-regulated genes. The objective of this study was to identify additional lupus-associated DNA methylation changes and determine the genetic contribution to epigenetic changes characteristic of lupus. METHODS Genome-wide DNA methylation was assessed in naïve CD4+ T cells from 74 patients with lupus and 74 age-matched, sex-matched and race-matched healthy controls. We applied a trend deviation analysis approach, comparing methylation data in our cohort with over 16 500 samples. Methylation quantitative trait loci (meQTL) analysis was performed by integrating methylation profiles with genome-wide genotyping data. RESULTS In addition to the previously reported epigenetic signature in interferon-regulated genes, we observed hypomethylation in the promoter region of the miR-17-92 cluster in patients with lupus. Members of this microRNA cluster play an important role in regulating T cell proliferation and differentiation. Expression of two microRNAs in this cluster, miR-19b1 and miR-18a, showed a significant positive correlation with lupus disease activity. Among miR-18a target genes, TNFAIP3, which encodes a negative regulator of nuclear factor kappa B, was downregulated in lupus CD4+ T cells. MeQTL identified in lupus patients showed overlap with genetic risk loci for lupus, including CFB and IRF7. The lupus risk allele in IRF7 (rs1131665) was associated with significant IRF7 hypomethylation. However, <1% of differentially methylated CpG sites in patients with lupus were associated with an meQTL, suggesting minimal genetic contribution to lupus-associated epigenotypes. CONCLUSION The lupus defining epigenetic signature, characterised by robust hypomethylation of interferon-regulated genes, does not appear to be determined by genetic factors. Hypomethylation of the miR-17-92 cluster that plays an important role in T cell activation is a novel epigenetic locus for lupus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Coit
- Division of Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Graduate Program in Immunology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Xiavan Roopnarinesingh
- Graduate Program, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
- Arthritis and Clinical Immunology Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Lourdes Ortiz-Fernández
- Division of Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | | | - Emily E Lewis
- Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Joan T Merrill
- Arthritis and Clinical Immunology Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
| | - W Joseph McCune
- Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Jonathan D Wren
- Arthritis and Clinical Immunology Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Amr H Sawalha
- Division of Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Lupus Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
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Miao R, Dang Q, Cai J, Huang HH, Xie SL, Liang Y. Sparse principal component analysis based on genome network for correcting cell type heterogeneity in epigenome-wide association studies. Med Biol Eng Comput 2022; 60:2601-2618. [DOI: 10.1007/s11517-022-02599-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 04/30/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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15
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Zou J, Li Z, Xie J, Wu Z, Huang Y, Xie H, Xu H, Huang Y, Zhou H, Wu H. Methylation Drives SLC2A1 Transcription and Ferroptosis Process Decreasing Autophagy Pressure in Colon Cancer. Journal of Oncology 2022; 2022:1-14. [PMID: 36065306 PMCID: PMC9440784 DOI: 10.1155/2022/9077424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Colon cancer is a common malignant tumor in the digestive tract, with relatively high rates of morbidity and mortality. It is the third most common type of tumor in the world. The effective treatment of advanced colon cancer is limited, so it is particularly important to study the new pathogenesis of colon cancer. Ferroptosis is a nonapoptotic regulated cell death mode driven by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation, a process which has been discovered in recent years. Autophagy involves lysosomal degradation pathways that promote or prevent cell death. High levels of autophagy are associated with ferroptosis, but a clear association has not yet been made between ferroptosis and autophagy in colon cancer. Through the analysis of transcriptome expression profiling data in colon cancer, we obtained the common upregulated genes and downregulated genes by recording the intersection of the differentially expressed genes in each dataset. Solute Carrier Family 2 Member 1 (SLC2A1) was identified by combining autophagy genes obtained from GeneCards and ferroptosis genes obtained from FerrDb. In order to explore the clinical significance and prognostic value of SLC2A1, we utilized massive databases to conduct an in-depth exploration of the methylation of SLC2A1, and we also investigated the differences in immune infiltration between tumor and normal tissues. We found that there are abundant methylation sites in SLC2A1 and that the methylation of SLC2A1 is correlated with the immunosuppression of tumor tissue. We discovered that during the induction of environmental factors, the transcription and methylation levels of SLC2A1 were greatly increased, autophagy and ferroptosis were inhibited, and the immune system was defective, resulting in a poor prognosis for patients. These results suggest that the autophagy and ferroptosis-related gene SLC2A1 is involved in the tumor immune regulation of colon cancer, and SLC2A1 may become a new therapeutic target for colon cancer.
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Hillary RF, McCartney DL, McRae AF, Campbell A, Walker RM, Hayward C, Horvath S, Porteous DJ, Evans KL, Marioni RE. Identification of influential probe types in epigenetic predictions of human traits: implications for microarray design. Clin Epigenetics 2022; 14:100. [PMID: 35948928 PMCID: PMC9367152 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-022-01320-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND CpG methylation levels can help to explain inter-individual differences in phenotypic traits. Few studies have explored whether identifying probe subsets based on their biological and statistical properties can maximise predictions whilst minimising array content. Variance component analyses and penalised regression (epigenetic predictors) were used to test the influence of (i) the number of probes considered, (ii) mean probe variability and (iii) methylation QTL status on the variance captured in eighteen traits by blood DNA methylation. Training and test samples comprised ≤ 4450 and ≤ 2578 unrelated individuals from Generation Scotland, respectively. RESULTS As the number of probes under consideration decreased, so too did the estimates from variance components and prediction analyses. Methylation QTL status and mean probe variability did not influence variance components. However, relative effect sizes were 15% larger for epigenetic predictors based on probes with known or reported methylation QTLs compared to probes without reported methylation QTLs. Relative effect sizes were 45% larger for predictors based on probes with mean Beta-values between 10 and 90% compared to those based on hypo- or hypermethylated probes (Beta-value ≤ 10% or ≥ 90%). CONCLUSIONS Arrays with fewer probes could reduce costs, leading to increased sample sizes for analyses. Our results show that reducing array content can restrict prediction metrics and careful attention must be given to the biological and distribution properties of CpG probes in array content selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert F Hillary
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Crewe Road South, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK.
| | - Daniel L McCartney
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Crewe Road South, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Allan F McRae
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072, Australia
| | - Archie Campbell
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Crewe Road South, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Rosie M Walker
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Crewe Road South, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK.,Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Chancellor's Building, 49 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh, EH16 4SB, UK
| | - Caroline Hayward
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Steve Horvath
- Department of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-7088, USA.,Department of Biostatistics, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1772, USA
| | - David J Porteous
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Crewe Road South, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Kathryn L Evans
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Crewe Road South, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Riccardo E Marioni
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Crewe Road South, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
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17
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Brand CM, Colbran LL, Capra JA. Predicting Archaic Hominin Phenotypes from Genomic Data. Annu Rev Genomics Hum Genet 2022; 23:591-612. [PMID: 35440148 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-genom-111521-121903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Ancient DNA provides a powerful window into the biology of extant and extinct species, including humans' closest relatives: Denisovans and Neanderthals. Here, we review what is known about archaic hominin phenotypes from genomic data and how those inferences have been made. We contend that understanding the influence of variants on lower-level molecular phenotypes-such as gene expression and protein function-is a promising approach to using ancient DNA to learn about archaic hominin traits. Molecular phenotypes have simpler genetic architectures than organism-level complex phenotypes, and this approach enables moving beyond association studies by proposing hypotheses about the effects of archaic variants that are testable in model systems. The major challenge to understanding archaic hominin phenotypes is broadening our ability to accurately map genotypes to phenotypes, but ongoing advances ensure that there will be much more to learn about archaic hominin phenotypes from their genomes. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics, Volume 23 is October 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colin M Brand
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA; , .,Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Laura L Colbran
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - John A Capra
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA; , .,Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
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18
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Varillas-Delgado D, Del Coso J, Gutiérrez-Hellín J, Aguilar-Navarro M, Muñoz A, Maestro A, Morencos E. Genetics and sports performance: the present and future in the identification of talent for sports based on DNA testing. Eur J Appl Physiol 2022; 122:1811-1830. [PMID: 35428907 PMCID: PMC9012664 DOI: 10.1007/s00421-022-04945-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The impact of genetics on physiology and sports performance is one of the most debated research aspects in sports sciences. Nearly 200 genetic polymorphisms have been found to influence sports performance traits, and over 20 polymorphisms may condition the status of the elite athlete. However, with the current evidence, it is certainly too early a stage to determine how to use genotyping as a tool for predicting exercise/sports performance or improving current methods of training. Research on this topic presents methodological limitations such as the lack of measurement of valid exercise performance phenotypes that make the study results difficult to interpret. Additionally, many studies present an insufficient cohort of athletes, or their classification as elite is dubious, which may introduce expectancy effects. Finally, the assessment of a progressively higher number of polymorphisms in the studies and the introduction of new analysis tools, such as the total genotype score (TGS) and genome-wide association studies (GWAS), have produced a considerable advance in the power of the analyses and a change from the study of single variants to determine pathways and systems associated with performance. The purpose of the present study was to comprehensively review evidence on the impact of genetics on endurance- and power-based exercise performance to clearly determine the potential utility of genotyping for detecting sports talent, enhancing training, or preventing exercise-related injuries, and to present an overview of recent research that has attempted to correct the methodological issues found in previous investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Varillas-Delgado
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Pozuelo de Alarcón, 28223, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Juan Del Coso
- Centre for Sport Studies, Rey Juan Carlos University, Fuenlabrada, 28933, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jorge Gutiérrez-Hellín
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Pozuelo de Alarcón, 28223, Madrid, Spain
| | - Millán Aguilar-Navarro
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Pozuelo de Alarcón, 28223, Madrid, Spain
| | - Alejandro Muñoz
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Pozuelo de Alarcón, 28223, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Esther Morencos
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Pozuelo de Alarcón, 28223, Madrid, Spain
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19
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Staley JR, Windmeijer F, Suderman M, Lyon MS, Davey Smith G, Tilling K. A robust mean and variance test with application to high-dimensional phenotypes. Eur J Epidemiol 2022; 37:377-387. [PMID: 34651232 PMCID: PMC9187575 DOI: 10.1007/s10654-021-00805-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2020] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Most studies of continuous health-related outcomes examine differences in mean levels (location) of the outcome by exposure. However, identifying effects on the variability (scale) of an outcome, and combining tests of mean and variability (location-and-scale), could provide additional insights into biological mechanisms. A joint test could improve power for studies of high-dimensional phenotypes, such as epigenome-wide association studies of DNA methylation at CpG sites. One possible cause of heterogeneity of variance is a variable interacting with exposure in its effect on outcome, so a joint test of mean and variability could help in the identification of effect modifiers. Here, we review a scale test, based on the Brown-Forsythe test, for analysing variability of a continuous outcome with respect to both categorical and continuous exposures, and develop a novel joint location-and-scale score (JLSsc) test. These tests were compared to alternatives in simulations and used to test associations of mean and variability of DNA methylation with gender and gestational age using data from the Accessible Resource for Integrated Epigenomics Studies (ARIES). In simulations, the Brown-Forsythe and JLSsc tests retained correct type I error rates when the outcome was not normally distributed in contrast to the other approaches tested which all had inflated type I error rates. These tests also identified > 7500 CpG sites for which either mean or variability in cord blood methylation differed according to gender or gestational age. The Brown-Forsythe test and JLSsc are robust tests that can be used to detect associations not solely driven by a mean effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- James R Staley
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Frank Windmeijer
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
- Department of Statistics and Nuffield College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Matthew Suderman
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Matthew S Lyon
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
- National Institute for Health Research Bristol Biomedical Research Centre, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - George Davey Smith
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Kate Tilling
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK.
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20
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Bell-Glenn S, Thompson JA, Salas LA, Koestler DC. A Novel Framework for the Identification of Reference DNA Methylation Libraries for Reference-Based Deconvolution of Cellular Mixtures. Front Bioinform 2022; 2. [PMID: 35419567 PMCID: PMC9004796 DOI: 10.3389/fbinf.2022.835591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Reference-based deconvolution methods use reference libraries of cell-specific DNA methylation (DNAm) measurements as a means toward deconvoluting cell proportions in heterogeneous biospecimens (e.g., whole-blood). As the accuracy of such methods depends highly on the CpG loci comprising the reference library, recent research efforts have focused on the selection of libraries to optimize deconvolution accuracy. While existing approaches for library selection work extremely well, the best performing approaches require a training data set consisting of both DNAm profiles over a heterogeneous cell population and gold-standard measurements of cell composition (e.g., flow cytometry) in the same samples. Here, we present a framework for reference library selection without a training dataset (RESET) and benchmark it against the Legacy method (minfi:pickCompProbes), where libraries are constructed based on a pre-specified number of cell-specific differentially methylated loci (DML). RESET uses a modified version of the Dispersion Separability Criteria (DSC) for comparing different libraries and has four main steps: 1) identify a candidate set of cell-specific DMLs, 2) randomly sample DMLs from the candidate set, 3) compute the Modified DSC of the selected DMLs, and 4) update the selection probabilities of DMLs based on their contribution to the Modified DSC. Steps 2–4 are repeated many times and the library with the largest Modified DSC is selected for subsequent reference-based deconvolution. We evaluated RESET using several publicly available datasets consisting of whole-blood DNAm measurements with corresponding measurements of cell composition. We computed the RMSE and R2 between the predicted cell proportions and their measured values. RESET outperformed the Legacy approach in selecting libraries that improve the accuracy of deconvolution estimates. Additionally, reference libraries constructed using RESET resulted in cellular composition estimates that explained more variation in DNAm as compared to the Legacy approach when evaluated in the context of epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) of several publicly available data sets. This finding has implications for the statistical power of EWAS. RESET combats potential challenges associated with existing approaches for reference library assembly and thus, may serve as a viable strategy for library construction in the absence of a training data set.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shelby Bell-Glenn
- Department of Biostatistics and Data Science, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, United States
| | - Jeffrey A. Thompson
- Department of Biostatistics and Data Science, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, United States
| | - Lucas A. Salas
- Department of Epidemiology, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States
| | - Devin C. Koestler
- Department of Biostatistics and Data Science, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, United States
- *Correspondence: Devin C. Koestler,
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21
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Honkova K, Rossnerova A, Chvojkova I, Milcova A, Margaryan H, Pastorkova A, Ambroz A, Rossner P, Jirik V, Rubes J, Sram RJ, Topinka J. Genome-Wide DNA Methylation in Policemen Working in Cities Differing by Major Sources of Air Pollution. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23031666. [PMID: 35163587 PMCID: PMC8915177 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23031666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2022] [Revised: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
DNA methylation is the most studied epigenetic mechanism that regulates gene expression, and it can serve as a useful biomarker of prior environmental exposure and future health outcomes. This study focused on DNA methylation profiles in a human cohort, comprising 125 nonsmoking city policemen (sampled twice), living and working in three localities (Prague, Ostrava and Ceske Budejovice) of the Czech Republic, who spent the majority of their working time outdoors. The main characterization of the localities, differing by major sources of air pollution, was defined by the stationary air pollution monitoring of PM2.5, B[a]P and NO2. DNA methylation was analyzed by a genome-wide microarray method. No season-specific DNA methylation pattern was discovered; however, we identified 13,643 differentially methylated CpG loci (DML) for a comparison between the Prague and Ostrava groups. The most significant DML was cg10123377 (log2FC = −1.92, p = 8.30 × 10−4) and loci annotated to RPTOR (total 20 CpG loci). We also found two hypomethylated loci annotated to the DNA repair gene XRCC5. Groups of DML annotated to the same gene were linked to diabetes mellitus (KCNQ1), respiratory diseases (PTPRN2), the dopaminergic system of the brain and neurodegenerative diseases (NR4A2). The most significant possibly affected pathway was Axon guidance, with 86 potentially deregulated genes near DML. The cluster of gene sets that could be affected by DNA methylation in the Ostrava groups mainly includes the neuronal functions and biological processes of cell junctions and adhesion assembly. The study demonstrates that the differences in the type of air pollution between localities can affect a unique change in DNA methylation profiles across the human genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katerina Honkova
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Epigenetics, Institute of Experimental Medicine CAS, Videnska 1083, 142 20 Prague 4, Czech Republic; (A.R.); (I.C.); (A.M.); (H.M.); (R.J.S.); (J.T.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +420-775-406-170
| | - Andrea Rossnerova
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Epigenetics, Institute of Experimental Medicine CAS, Videnska 1083, 142 20 Prague 4, Czech Republic; (A.R.); (I.C.); (A.M.); (H.M.); (R.J.S.); (J.T.)
| | - Irena Chvojkova
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Epigenetics, Institute of Experimental Medicine CAS, Videnska 1083, 142 20 Prague 4, Czech Republic; (A.R.); (I.C.); (A.M.); (H.M.); (R.J.S.); (J.T.)
| | - Alena Milcova
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Epigenetics, Institute of Experimental Medicine CAS, Videnska 1083, 142 20 Prague 4, Czech Republic; (A.R.); (I.C.); (A.M.); (H.M.); (R.J.S.); (J.T.)
| | - Hasmik Margaryan
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Epigenetics, Institute of Experimental Medicine CAS, Videnska 1083, 142 20 Prague 4, Czech Republic; (A.R.); (I.C.); (A.M.); (H.M.); (R.J.S.); (J.T.)
| | - Anna Pastorkova
- Department of Nanotoxicology and Molecular Epidemiology, Institute of Experimental Medicine CAS, Videnska 1083, 142 20 Prague 4, Czech Republic; (A.P.); (A.A.); (P.R.J.)
| | - Antonin Ambroz
- Department of Nanotoxicology and Molecular Epidemiology, Institute of Experimental Medicine CAS, Videnska 1083, 142 20 Prague 4, Czech Republic; (A.P.); (A.A.); (P.R.J.)
| | - Pavel Rossner
- Department of Nanotoxicology and Molecular Epidemiology, Institute of Experimental Medicine CAS, Videnska 1083, 142 20 Prague 4, Czech Republic; (A.P.); (A.A.); (P.R.J.)
| | - Vitezslav Jirik
- Centre for Epidemiological Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ostrava, Syllabova 19, 703 00 Ostrava, Czech Republic;
| | - Jiri Rubes
- Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 296/70, 621 00 Brno, Czech Republic;
| | - Radim J. Sram
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Epigenetics, Institute of Experimental Medicine CAS, Videnska 1083, 142 20 Prague 4, Czech Republic; (A.R.); (I.C.); (A.M.); (H.M.); (R.J.S.); (J.T.)
| | - Jan Topinka
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Epigenetics, Institute of Experimental Medicine CAS, Videnska 1083, 142 20 Prague 4, Czech Republic; (A.R.); (I.C.); (A.M.); (H.M.); (R.J.S.); (J.T.)
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22
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Xiong Z, Yang F, Li M, Ma Y, Zhao W, Wang G, Li Z, Zheng X, Zou D, Zong W, Kang H, Jia Y, Li R, Zhang Z, Bao Y. EWAS Open Platform: integrated data, knowledge and toolkit for epigenome-wide association study. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:D1004-D1009. [PMID: 34718752 PMCID: PMC8728289 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Revised: 10/03/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Epigenome-Wide Association Study (EWAS) has become a standard strategy to discover DNA methylation variation of different phenotypes. Since 2018, we have developed EWAS Atlas and EWAS Data Hub to integrate a growing volume of EWAS knowledge and data, respectively. Here, we present EWAS Open Platform (https://ngdc.cncb.ac.cn/ewas) that includes EWAS Atlas, EWAS Data Hub and the newly developed EWAS Toolkit. In the current implementation, EWAS Open Platform integrates 617 018 high-quality EWAS associations from 910 publications, covering 51 phenotypes, 275 diseases and 104 environmental factors. It also provides well-normalized DNA methylation array data and the corresponding metadata from 115 852 samples, which involve 707 tissues, 218 cell lines and 528 diseases. Taking advantage of integrated knowledge and data in EWAS Atlas and EWAS Data Hub, EWAS Open Platform equips with EWAS Toolkit, a powerful one-stop site for EWAS enrichment, annotation, and knowledge network construction and visualization. Collectively, EWAS Open Platform provides open access to EWAS knowledge, data and toolkit and thus bears great utility for a broader range of relevant research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhuang Xiong
- National Genomics Data Center, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences / China National Center for Bioinformation, Beijing 100101, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Fei Yang
- National Genomics Data Center, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences / China National Center for Bioinformation, Beijing 100101, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Mengwei Li
- National Genomics Data Center, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences / China National Center for Bioinformation, Beijing 100101, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Yingke Ma
- National Genomics Data Center, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences / China National Center for Bioinformation, Beijing 100101, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Wei Zhao
- National Genomics Data Center, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences / China National Center for Bioinformation, Beijing 100101, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Guoliang Wang
- National Genomics Data Center, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences / China National Center for Bioinformation, Beijing 100101, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Zhaohua Li
- National Genomics Data Center, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences / China National Center for Bioinformation, Beijing 100101, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xinchang Zheng
- National Genomics Data Center, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences / China National Center for Bioinformation, Beijing 100101, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Dong Zou
- National Genomics Data Center, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences / China National Center for Bioinformation, Beijing 100101, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Wenting Zong
- National Genomics Data Center, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences / China National Center for Bioinformation, Beijing 100101, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Hongen Kang
- National Genomics Data Center, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences / China National Center for Bioinformation, Beijing 100101, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yaokai Jia
- National Genomics Data Center, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences / China National Center for Bioinformation, Beijing 100101, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Rujiao Li
- National Genomics Data Center, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences / China National Center for Bioinformation, Beijing 100101, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Zhang Zhang
- National Genomics Data Center, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences / China National Center for Bioinformation, Beijing 100101, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yiming Bao
- National Genomics Data Center, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences / China National Center for Bioinformation, Beijing 100101, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Genome Sciences and Information, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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23
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Zhang Z, Zeng C, Zhang W. Characterization of the Illumina EPIC Array for Optimal Applications in Epigenetic Research Targeting Diverse Human Populations. Epigenetics Commun 2022; 2:7. [PMCID: PMC9718568 DOI: 10.1186/s43682-022-00015-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
The Illumina EPIC array is widely used for high-throughput profiling of DNA cytosine modifications in human samples, covering more than 850,000 modification sites across various genomic features. The application of this platform is expected to provide novel insights into the epigenetic contribution to human complex traits and diseases. Considering the diverse inter-population genetic and epigenetic variation, it will benefit the research community with a comprehensive characterization of this platform for its applicability to major global populations. Specifically, we mapped 866,836 CpG probes from the EPIC array to the human genome reference. We detected 91,034 CpG probes that did not align reliably to the human genome reference. In addition, 21,256 CpG probes were found to ambiguously map to multiple loci in the human genome, and 448 probes showing inaccurate genomic information from the original Illumina annotations. We further characterized those uniquely mapped CpG probes in terms of whether they contained common genetic variants, i.e., single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), in major global populations, by utilizing the 1000 Genomes Project data. A list of optimal CpG probes on the EPIC array was generated for major global populations, with the aim of providing a resource to facilitate future studies of diverse human populations. In conclusion, our analysis indicated that studies of diverse human populations using the EPIC array would be benefited by taking into account of the technical features of this platform.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhou Zhang
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA
| | - Chang Zeng
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA
| | - Wei Zhang
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA.,The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA
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Abstract
With approximately 38 million people living with HIV/AIDS globally, and a further 1.5 million new global infections per year, it is imperative that we advance our understanding of all factors contributing to HIV infection. While most studies have focused on the influence of host genetic factors on HIV pathogenesis, epigenetic factors are gaining attention. Epigenetics involves alterations in gene expression without altering the DNA sequence. DNA methylation is a critical epigenetic mechanism that influences both viral and host factors. This review has five focal points, which examines (i) fluctuations in the expression of methylation modifying factors upon HIV infection (ii) the effect of DNA methylation on HIV viral genes and (iii) host genome (iv) inferences from other infectious and non-communicable diseases, we provide a list of HIV-associated host genes that are regulated by methylation in other disease models (v) the potential of DNA methylation as an epi-therapeutic strategy and biomarker. DNA methylation has also been shown to serve as a robust therapeutic strategy and precision medicine biomarker against diseases such as cancer and autoimmune conditions. Despite new drugs being discovered for HIV, drug resistance is a problem in high disease burden settings such as Sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, genetic therapies that are under investigation are irreversible and may have off target effects. Alternative therapies that are nongenetic are essential. In this review, we discuss the potential role of DNA methylation as a novel therapeutic intervention against HIV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thilona Arumugam
- School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Upasana Ramphal
- School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
- Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
- KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP), School of Laboratory Medicine & Medical Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Theolan Adimulam
- School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Romona Chinniah
- School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Veron Ramsuran
- School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
- Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
- KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP), School of Laboratory Medicine & Medical Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
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25
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Papageorgiou I, Bittner D, Psychogios MN, Hadjidemetriou S. Brain Immunoinformatics: A Symmetrical Link between Informatics, Wet Lab and the Clinic. Symmetry (Basel) 2021; 13:2168. [DOI: 10.3390/sym13112168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Breakthrough advances in informatics over the last decade have thoroughly influenced the field of immunology. The intermingling of machine learning with wet lab applications and clinical results has hatched the newly defined immunoinformatics society. Immunoinformatics of the central neural system, referred to as neuroimmunoinformatics (NII), investigates symmetrical and asymmetrical interactions of the brain-immune interface. This interdisciplinary overview on NII is addressed to bioscientists and computer scientists. We delineate the dominating trajectories and field-shaping achievements and elaborate on future directions using bridging language and terminology. Computation, varying from linear modeling to complex deep learning approaches, fuels neuroimmunology through three core directions. Firstly, by providing big-data analysis software for high-throughput methods such as next-generation sequencing and genome-wide association studies. Secondly, by designing models for the prediction of protein morphology, functions, and symmetrical and asymmetrical protein–protein interactions. Finally, NII boosts the output of quantitative pathology by enabling the automatization of tedious processes such as cell counting, tracing, and arbor analysis. The new classification of microglia, the brain’s innate immune cells, was an NII achievement. Deep sequencing classifies microglia in “sensotypes” to accurately describe the versatility of immune responses to physiological and pathological challenges, as well as to experimental conditions such as xenografting and organoids. NII approaches complex tasks in the brain-immune interface, recognizes patterns and allows for hypothesis-free predictions with ultimate targeted individualized treatment strategies, and personalizes disease prognosis and treatment response.
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26
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Richter GM, Kruppa J, Keceli HG, Ataman-Duruel ET, Graetz C, Pischon N, Wagner G, Rendenbach C, Jockel-Schneider Y, Martins O, Bruckmann C, Staufenbiel I, Franke A, Nohutcu RM, Jepsen S, Dommisch H, Schaefer AS. Epigenetic adaptations of the masticatory mucosa to periodontal inflammation. Clin Epigenetics 2021; 13:203. [PMID: 34732256 PMCID: PMC8567676 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-021-01190-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background In mucosal barrier interfaces, flexible responses of gene expression to long-term environmental changes allow adaptation and fine-tuning for the balance of host defense and uncontrolled not-resolving inflammation. Epigenetic modifications of the chromatin confer plasticity to the genetic information and give insight into how tissues use the genetic information to adapt to environmental factors. The oral mucosa is particularly exposed to environmental stressors such as a variable microbiota. Likewise, persistent oral inflammation is the most important intrinsic risk factor for the oral inflammatory disease periodontitis and has strong potential to alter DNA-methylation patterns. The aim of the current study was to identify epigenetic changes of the oral masticatory mucosa in response to long-term inflammation that resulted in periodontitis. Methods and results Genome-wide CpG methylation of both inflamed and clinically uninflamed solid gingival tissue biopsies of 60 periodontitis cases was analyzed using the Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip. We validated and performed cell-type deconvolution for infiltrated immune cells using the EpiDish algorithm. Effect sizes of DMPs in gingival epithelial and fibroblast cells were estimated and adjusted for confounding factors using our recently developed “intercept-method”. In the current EWAS, we identified various genes that showed significantly different methylation between periodontitis-inflamed and uninflamed oral mucosa in periodontitis patients. The strongest differences were observed for genes with roles in wound healing (ROBO2, PTP4A3), cell adhesion (LPXN) and innate immune response (CCL26, DNAJC1, BPI). Enrichment analyses implied a role of epigenetic changes for vesicle trafficking gene sets. Conclusions Our results imply specific adaptations of the oral mucosa to a persistent inflammatory environment that involve wound repair, barrier integrity, and innate immune defense. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13148-021-01190-7.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gesa M Richter
- Department of Periodontology and Synoptic Dentistry, Oral Medicine and Oral Surgery, Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Sciences, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Aßmannshauser Str. 4-6, 14197, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Jochen Kruppa
- Institute of Medical Informatics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany
| | - H Gencay Keceli
- Periodontology Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Hacettepe University, 06230, Sihhiye/Altindag/Ankara, Turkey
| | - Emel Tuğba Ataman-Duruel
- Periodontology Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Hacettepe University, 06230, Sihhiye/Altindag/Ankara, Turkey
| | - Christian Graetz
- Clinic of Conservative Dentistry and Periodontology, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Arnold-Heller-Straße 3, 24105, Kiel, Germany
| | - Nicole Pischon
- Private Practice, Karl-Marx-Straße 24, 12529, Schönefeld, Germany
| | - Gunar Wagner
- Department of Restorative Dentistry and Periodontology, University Medical Center Leipzig, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Carsten Rendenbach
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353, Berlin, Germany
| | - Yvonne Jockel-Schneider
- Department of Periodontology, Clinic of Preventive Dentistry and Periodontology, University Medical Center of the Julius-Maximilians-University, Pleicherwall, 97070, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Orlando Martins
- Institute of Periodontology, Institute of Medicine and Oral Surgery, Dentistry Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Av. Bissaya Barreto, Bloco de Celas, 3000-075, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Corinna Bruckmann
- Department of Conservative Dentistry and Periodontology, Medical University Vienna, School of Dentistry, Sensengasse 2a, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ingmar Staufenbiel
- Department of Conservative Dentistry, Periodontology & Preventive Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Hannover Medical School (MHH), Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Andre Franke
- Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Christian-Albrechts-University, Rosalind-Franklin-Straße 12, 24105, Kiel, Germany
| | - Rahime M Nohutcu
- Periodontology Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Hacettepe University, 06230, Sihhiye/Altindag/Ankara, Turkey
| | - Søren Jepsen
- Department of Periodontology, Operative and Preventive Dentistry, University of Bonn, Welschnonnenstraße 17, 53111, Bonn, Germany
| | - Henrik Dommisch
- Department of Periodontology and Synoptic Dentistry, Oral Medicine and Oral Surgery, Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Sciences, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Aßmannshauser Str. 4-6, 14197, Berlin, Germany
| | - Arne S Schaefer
- Department of Periodontology and Synoptic Dentistry, Oral Medicine and Oral Surgery, Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Sciences, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Aßmannshauser Str. 4-6, 14197, Berlin, Germany
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Wei S, Tao J, Xu J, Chen X, Wang Z, Zhang N, Zuo L, Jia Z, Chen H, Sun H, Yan Y, Zhang M, Lv H, Kong F, Duan L, Ma Y, Liao M, Xu L, Feng R, Liu G, Project TEWAS, Jiang Y. Ten Years of EWAS. Adv Sci (Weinh) 2021; 8:e2100727. [PMID: 34382344 PMCID: PMC8529436 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202100727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2021] [Revised: 05/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) has been applied to analyze DNA methylation variation in complex diseases for a decade, and epigenome as a research target has gradually become a hot topic of current studies. The DNA methylation microarrays, next-generation, and third-generation sequencing technologies have prepared a high-quality platform for EWAS. Here, the progress of EWAS research is reviewed, its contributions to clinical applications, and mainly describe the achievements of four typical diseases. Finally, the challenges encountered by EWAS and make bold predictions for its future development are presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyu Wei
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
- The EWAS ProjectHarbinChina
| | - Junxian Tao
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
- The EWAS ProjectHarbinChina
| | - Jing Xu
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
- The EWAS ProjectHarbinChina
| | - Xingyu Chen
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
| | - Zhaoyang Wang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
| | - Nan Zhang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
| | - Lijiao Zuo
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
| | - Zhe Jia
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
| | - Haiyan Chen
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
| | - Hongmei Sun
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
| | - Yubo Yan
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
| | - Mingming Zhang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
| | - Hongchao Lv
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
| | - Fanwu Kong
- The EWAS ProjectHarbinChina
- Department of NephrologyThe Second Affiliated HospitalHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150001China
| | - Lian Duan
- The EWAS ProjectHarbinChina
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical UniversityWenzhou325000China
| | - Ye Ma
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
- The EWAS ProjectHarbinChina
| | - Mingzhi Liao
- The EWAS ProjectHarbinChina
- College of Life SciencesNorthwest A&F UniversityYanglingShanxi712100China
| | - Liangde Xu
- The EWAS ProjectHarbinChina
- School of Biomedical EngineeringWenzhou Medical UniversityWenzhou325035China
| | - Rennan Feng
- The EWAS ProjectHarbinChina
- Department of Nutrition and Food HygienePublic Health CollegeHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
| | - Guiyou Liu
- The EWAS ProjectHarbinChina
- Beijing Institute for Brain DisordersCapital Medical UniversityBeijing100069China
| | | | - Yongshuai Jiang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
- The EWAS ProjectHarbinChina
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Xie T, Gorenjak V, Stathopoulou MG, Dadé S, Marouli E, Masson C, Murray H, Lamont J, Fitzgerald P, Deloukas P, Visvikis-Siest S. Epigenome-wide association study detects a novel loci associated with central obesity in healthy subjects. BMC Med Genomics 2021; 14:233. [PMID: 34556110 PMCID: PMC8459469 DOI: 10.1186/s12920-021-01077-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Background and aims Central obesity is a condition that poses a significant risk to global health and requires the employment of novel scientific methods for exploration. The objective of this study is to use DNA methylation analysis to detect DNA methylation loci linked to obesity phenotypes, i.e. waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI. Methods and results Two-hundred and ten healthy European participants from the STANISLAS Family Study (SFS), comprising 73 nuclear families, were comprehensively assessed for methylation status using Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip. An epigenome-wide association study was performed, which identified a CpG site cg16170243 located on chromosome 18q21.2 significantly associated with waist circumference, after adjusting for BMI (β = 2.32, SE = 0.41, Padj = 0.048). Cg16170243 corresponds to a 50 bp-length human methylation oligoprobe located within the AC090241.2 gene that overlaps ST8SIA5 gene. No significant association was observed with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI (Padj > 0.05). Conclusions A novel association between DNA methylation and WC was identified, which is demonstrating that epigenetic mechanisms may have a significant impact on waist circumference ratio in healthy individuals. Further studies are warranted to address the causal effects of this association. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12920-021-01077-9.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Xie
- INSERM UMR U1122, IGE-PCV, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Lorraine, 30 Rue Lionnois, 54000, Nancy, France.,CRCT, INSERM U1037, 31037, Toulouse, France.,Université Paul Sabatier III', 31400, Toulouse, France
| | - Vesna Gorenjak
- INSERM UMR U1122, IGE-PCV, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Lorraine, 30 Rue Lionnois, 54000, Nancy, France
| | - Maria G Stathopoulou
- INSERM UMR U1122, IGE-PCV, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Lorraine, 30 Rue Lionnois, 54000, Nancy, France.,'Université Côte d'Azur', INSERM U1065, C3M, 06204, Nice, France
| | - Sébastien Dadé
- INSERM UMR U1122, IGE-PCV, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Lorraine, 30 Rue Lionnois, 54000, Nancy, France
| | | | - Christine Masson
- INSERM UMR U1122, IGE-PCV, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Lorraine, 30 Rue Lionnois, 54000, Nancy, France
| | | | | | | | | | - Sophie Visvikis-Siest
- INSERM UMR U1122, IGE-PCV, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Lorraine, 30 Rue Lionnois, 54000, Nancy, France.
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Ramirez K, Fernández R, Collet S, Kiyar M, Delgado-Zayas E, Gómez-Gil E, Van Den Eynde T, T'Sjoen G, Guillamon A, Mueller SC, Pásaro E. Epigenetics Is Implicated in the Basis of Gender Incongruence: An Epigenome-Wide Association Analysis. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:701017. [PMID: 34489625 PMCID: PMC8418298 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.701017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2021] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction The main objective was to carry out a global DNA methylation analysis in a population with gender incongruence before gender-affirming hormone treatment (GAHT), in comparison to a cisgender population. Methods A global CpG (cytosine-phosphate-guanine) methylation analysis was performed on blood from 16 transgender people before GAHT vs. 16 cisgender people using the Illumina© Infinium Human Methylation 850k BeadChip, after bisulfite conversion. Changes in the DNA methylome in cisgender vs. transgender populations were analyzed with the Partek® Genomics Suite program by a 2-way ANOVA test comparing populations by group and their sex assigned at birth. Results The principal components analysis (PCA) showed that both populations (cis and trans) differ in the degree of global CpG methylation prior to GAHT. The 2-way ANOVA test showed 71,515 CpGs that passed the criterion FDR p < 0.05. Subsequently, in male assigned at birth population we found 87 CpGs that passed both criteria (FDR p < 0.05; fold change ≥ ± 2) of which 22 were located in islands. The most significant CpGs were related to genes: WDR45B, SLC6A20, NHLH1, PLEKHA5, UBALD1, SLC37A1, ARL6IP1, GRASP, and NCOA6. Regarding the female assigned at birth populations, we found 2 CpGs that passed both criteria (FDR p < 0.05; fold change ≥ ± 2), but none were located in islands. One of these CpGs, related to the MPPED2 gene, is shared by both, trans men and trans women. The enrichment analysis showed that these genes are involved in functions such as negative regulation of gene expression (GO:0010629), central nervous system development (GO:0007417), brain development (GO:0007420), ribonucleotide binding (GO:0032553), and RNA binding (GO:0003723), among others. Strengths and Limitations It is the first time that a global CpG methylation analysis has been carried out in a population with gender incongruence before GAHT. A prospective study before/during GAHT would provide a better understanding of the influence of epigenetics in this process. Conclusion The main finding of this study is that the cis and trans populations have different global CpG methylation profiles prior to GAHT. Therefore, our results suggest that epigenetics may be involved in the etiology of gender incongruence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karla Ramirez
- Laboratory of Psychobiology, Department of Psychology, Institute Advanced Scientific Research Center (CICA), University of A Coruña, A Coruña, Spain.,Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Center for Biophysics and Biochemistry, Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC), Caracas, Venezuela
| | - Rosa Fernández
- Laboratory of Psychobiology, Department of Psychology, Institute Advanced Scientific Research Center (CICA), University of A Coruña, A Coruña, Spain
| | - Sarah Collet
- Department of Endocrinology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Meltem Kiyar
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Enrique Delgado-Zayas
- Laboratory of Psychobiology, Department of Psychology, Institute Advanced Scientific Research Center (CICA), University of A Coruña, A Coruña, Spain
| | | | | | - Guy T'Sjoen
- Department of Endocrinology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Antonio Guillamon
- Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, National University of Distance Education (UNED), Madrid, Spain
| | - Sven C Mueller
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Eduardo Pásaro
- Laboratory of Psychobiology, Department of Psychology, Institute Advanced Scientific Research Center (CICA), University of A Coruña, A Coruña, Spain
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Te Pas MFW, Veldkamp T, de Haas Y, Bannink A, Ellen ED. Adaptation of Livestock to New Diets Using Feed Components without Competition with Human Edible Protein Sources-A Review of the Possibilities and Recommendations. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:2293. [PMID: 34438751 DOI: 10.3390/ani11082293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Revised: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Livestock feed contains components that can also be consumed by humans, which may become less available for livestock. Proteins are such components that may become less available for livestock feed. This review focuses on using alternative protein sources in feed. We may expect protein efficiency problems and we discuss how these could be solved using a combination of alternative protein sources and animal breeding. We make recommendations for the use and optimization of novel protein sources. Abstract Livestock feed encompasses both human edible and human inedible components. Human edible feed components may become less available for livestock. Especially for proteins, this calls for action. This review focuses on using alternative protein sources in feed and protein efficiency, the expected problems, and how these problems could be solved. Breeding for higher protein efficiency leading to less use of the protein sources may be one strategy. Replacing (part of) the human edible feed components with human inedible components may be another strategy, which could be combined with breeding for livestock that can efficiently digest novel protein feed sources. The potential use of novel protein sources is discussed. We discuss the present knowledge on novel protein sources, including the consequences for animal performance and production costs, and make recommendations for the use and optimization of novel protein sources (1) to improve our knowledge on the inclusion of human inedible protein into the diet of livestock, (2) because cooperation between animal breeders and nutritionists is needed to share knowledge and combine expertise, and (3) to investigate the effect of animal-specific digestibility of protein sources for selective breeding for each protein source and for precision feeding. Nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics will be important tools.
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Abstract
Precision medicine is the new age medicine and refers to tailoring treatments to a subpopulation who have a common susceptibility to a particular disease or similar response to a particular drug. Although the concept existed even during the times of Sir William Osler, it was given a shot in the arm with the Precision Medicine Initiative launched by Barack Obama in 2015. The main tools of precision medicine are Big data, artificial intelligence, the various omics, pharmaco-omics, environmental and social factors and the integration of these with preventive and population medicine. Big data can be acquired from electronic health records of patients and includes various biomarkers (clinical and omics based), laboratory and radiological investigations and these can be analysed through machine learning by various complex flowcharts setting up an algorithm for the management of specific subpopulations. So, there is a move away from the traditional "one size fits all" treatment to precision-based medicine. Research in "omics" has increased in leaps and bounds and advancements have included the fields of genomics, epigenomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics and microbiomics. Pharmaco-omics has also come to the forefront with development of new drugs and suiting a particular drug to a particular subpopulation, thus avoiding their prescription to non-responders, preventing unwanted adverse effects and proving economical in the long run. Environmental, social and behavioural factors are as important or in fact more important than genetic factors in most complex diseases and managing these factors form an important part of precision medicine. Finally integrating precision with preventive and public health makes "precision medicine" a complete final product which will change the way medicine will be practised in future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nardeep Naithani
- Director & Commandant, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, India
| | - Sharmila Sinha
- Professor & Head, Department of Pharmacology, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, India
| | - Pratibha Misra
- Professor & Head, Department of Biochemistry, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, India
| | - Biju Vasudevan
- Professor & Head, Department of Dermatology, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, India
| | - Rajesh Sahu
- Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, India
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32
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Martorell-Marugán J, Carmona-Sáez P. Detecting Differentially Methylated Promoters in Genes Related to Disease Phenotypes Using R. Bio Protoc 2021; 11:e4033. [PMID: 34250201 DOI: 10.21769/bioprotoc.4033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2020] [Revised: 02/21/2021] [Accepted: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/02/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA methylation in gene promoters plays a major role in gene expression regulation, and alterations in methylation patterns have been associated with several diseases. In this context, different software suites and statistical methods have been proposed to analyze differentially methylated positions and regions. Among them, the novel statistical method implemented in the mCSEA R package proposed a new framework to detect subtle, but consistent, methylation differences. Here, we provide an easy-to-use pipeline covering all the necessary steps to detect differentially methylated promoters with mCSEA from Illumina 450K and EPIC methylation BeadChips data. This protocol covers the download of data from public repositories, quality control, data filtering and normalization, estimation of cell type proportions, and statistical analysis. In addition, we show the procedure to compare disease vs. normal phenotypes, obtaining differentially methylated regions including promoters or CpG Islands. The entire protocol is based on R programming language, which can be used in any operating system and does not require advanced programming skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordi Martorell-Marugán
- GENYO. Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research: Pfizer / University of Granada / Andalusian Regional Government, Granada, Spain.,Atrys Health S.A., Barcelona, Spain
| | - Pedro Carmona-Sáez
- GENYO. Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research: Pfizer / University of Granada / Andalusian Regional Government, Granada, Spain.,Department of Statistics and OR, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
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33
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Lafontaine N, Campbell PJ, Castillo-Fernandez JE, Mullin S, Lim EM, Kendrew P, Lewer M, Brown SJ, Huang RC, Melton PE, Mori TA, Beilin LJ, Dudbridge F, Spector TD, Wright MJ, Martin NG, McRae AF, Panicker V, Zhu G, Walsh JP, Bell JT, Wilson SG. Epigenome-Wide Association Study of Thyroid Function Traits Identifies Novel Associations of fT3 With KLF9 and DOT1L. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2021; 106:e2191-e2202. [PMID: 33484127 PMCID: PMC8063248 DOI: 10.1210/clinem/dgaa975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
CONTEXT Circulating concentrations of free triiodothyronine (fT3), free thyroxine (fT4), and thyrotropin (TSH) are partly heritable traits. Recent studies have advanced knowledge of their genetic architecture. Epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation (DNAm), may be important in pituitary-thyroid axis regulation and action, but data are limited. OBJECTIVE To identify novel associations between fT3, fT4, and TSH and differentially methylated positions (DMPs) in the genome in subjects from 2 Australian cohorts. METHOD We performed an epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) of thyroid function parameters and DNAm using participants from: Brisbane Systems Genetics Study (median age 14.2 years, n = 563) and the Raine Study (median age 17.0 years, n = 863). Plasma fT3, fT4, and TSH were measured by immunoassay. DNAm levels in blood were assessed using Illumina HumanMethylation450 BeadChip arrays. Analyses employed generalized linear mixed models to test association between DNAm and thyroid function parameters. Data from the 2 cohorts were meta-analyzed. RESULTS We identified 2 DMPs with epigenome-wide significant (P < 2.4E-7) associations with TSH and 6 with fT3, including cg00049440 in KLF9 (P = 2.88E-10) and cg04173586 in DOT1L (P = 2.09E-16), both genes known to be induced by fT3. All DMPs had a positive association between DNAm and TSH and a negative association between DNAm and fT3. There were no DMPs significantly associated with fT4. We identified 23 differentially methylated regions associated with fT3, fT4, or TSH. CONCLUSIONS This study has demonstrated associations between blood-based DNAm and both fT3 and TSH. This may provide insight into mechanisms underlying thyroid hormone action and/or pituitary-thyroid axis function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Lafontaine
- Department of Endocrinology & Diabetes, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, WA, Australia
- Medical School, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
- Correspondence: Nicole Lafontaine, MBBS, BMedSci, RACP, Department of Endocrinology & Diabetes, Level 1, Building C, QEII Medical Centre, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Hospital Ave, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia.
| | - Purdey J Campbell
- Department of Endocrinology & Diabetes, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, WA, Australia
| | | | - Shelby Mullin
- Department of Endocrinology & Diabetes, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, WA, Australia
| | - Ee Mun Lim
- Department of Endocrinology & Diabetes, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, WA, Australia
- Pathwest Laboratory Medicine, Nedlands, WA, Australia
| | | | | | - Suzanne J Brown
- Department of Endocrinology & Diabetes, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, WA, Australia
| | - Rae-Chi Huang
- Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
| | - Phillip E Melton
- School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
- School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
- Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Trevor A Mori
- Medical School, Royal Perth Hospital Unit, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Lawrence J Beilin
- Medical School, Royal Perth Hospital Unit, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Frank Dudbridge
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - Tim D Spector
- Department of Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Margaret J Wright
- Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | | | - Allan F McRae
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Vijay Panicker
- Department of Endocrinology & Diabetes, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, WA, Australia
| | - Gu Zhu
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia
| | - John P Walsh
- Department of Endocrinology & Diabetes, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, WA, Australia
- Medical School, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
| | - Jordana T Bell
- Department of Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Scott G Wilson
- Department of Endocrinology & Diabetes, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, WA, Australia
- Department of Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology, King’s College London, London, UK
- School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
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Cosín-Tomás M, Bustamante M, Sunyer J. Epigenetic association studies at birth and the origin of lung function development. Eur Respir J 2021; 57:57/4/2100109. [PMID: 33858853 DOI: 10.1183/13993003.00109-2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marta Cosín-Tomás
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain.,Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.,Centro de investigación biomédica en red en epidemiología y salud pública (ciberesp), Madrid, Spain
| | - Mariona Bustamante
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain.,Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.,Centro de investigación biomédica en red en epidemiología y salud pública (ciberesp), Madrid, Spain
| | - Jordi Sunyer
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain .,Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.,Centro de investigación biomédica en red en epidemiología y salud pública (ciberesp), Madrid, Spain.,IMIM Parc Salut Mar, Barcelona, Spain
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35
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Quan Y, Liang F, Deng SM, Zhu Y, Chen Y, Xiong J. Mining the Selective Remodeling of DNA Methylation in Promoter Regions to Identify Robust Gene-Level Associations With Phenotype. Front Mol Biosci 2021; 8:597513. [PMID: 33842534 PMCID: PMC8034267 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.597513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2020] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Epigenetics is an essential biological frontier linking genetics to the environment, where DNA methylation is one of the most studied epigenetic events. In recent years, through the epigenome-wide association study (EWAS), researchers have identified thousands of phenotype-related methylation sites. However, the overlaps of identified phenotype-related DNA methylation sites between various studies are often quite small, and it might be due to the fact that methylation remodeling has a certain degree of randomness within the genome. Thus, the identification of robust gene-phenotype associations is crucial to interpreting pathogenesis. How to integrate the methylation values of different sites on the same gene and to mine the DNA methylation at the gene level remains a challenge. A recent study found that the DNA methylation difference of the gene body and promoter region has a strong correlation with gene expression. In this study, we proposed a Statistical difference of DNA Methylation between Promoter and Other Body Region (SIMPO) algorithm to extract DNA methylation values at the gene level. First, by choosing to smoke as an environmental exposure factor, our method led to significant improvements in gene overlaps (from 5 to 17%) between different datasets. In addition, the biological significance of phenotype-related genes identified by SIMPO algorithm is comparable to that of the traditional probe-based methods. Then, we selected two disease contents (e.g., insulin resistance and Parkinson's disease) to show that the biological efficiency of disease-related gene identification increased from 15.43 to 44.44% (p-value = 1.20e-28). In summary, our results declare that mining the selective remodeling of DNA methylation in promoter regions can identify robust gene-level associations with phenotype, and the characteristic remodeling of a given gene's promoter region can reflect the essence of disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Quan
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Agricultural Bioinformatics, College of Informatics, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
- Lab of Epigenetics and Advanced Health Technology, Space Science and Technology Institute, Shenzhen, China
| | - Fengji Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Space Medicine Fundamentals and Application, China Astronaut Research and Training Center, Beijing, China
| | - Si-Min Deng
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Agricultural Bioinformatics, College of Informatics, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Yuexing Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Space Medicine Fundamentals and Application, China Astronaut Research and Training Center, Beijing, China
- Aromability Inc., Beijing, China
| | - Ying Chen
- Lab of Epigenetics and Advanced Health Technology, Space Science and Technology Institute, Shenzhen, China
| | - Jianghui Xiong
- Lab of Epigenetics and Advanced Health Technology, Space Science and Technology Institute, Shenzhen, China
- State Key Laboratory of Space Medicine Fundamentals and Application, China Astronaut Research and Training Center, Beijing, China
- Aromability Inc., Beijing, China
- Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute (JITRI), Applied Adaptome Immunology Institute, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
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36
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Lent S, Cardenas A, Rifas-Shiman SL, Perron P, Bouchard L, Liu CT, Hivert MF, Dupuis J. Detecting differentially methylated regions with multiple distinct associations. Epigenomics 2021; 13:451-464. [PMID: 33641349 DOI: 10.2217/epi-2020-0344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Aim: We evaluated five methods for detecting differentially methylated regions (DMRs): DMRcate, comb-p, seqlm, GlobalP and dmrff. Materials & methods: We used a simulation study and real data analysis to evaluate performance. Additionally, we evaluated the use of an ancestry-matched reference cohort to estimate correlations between CpG sites in cord blood. Results: Several methods had inflated Type I error, which increased at more stringent significant levels. In power simulations with 1-2 causal CpG sites with the same direction of effect, dmrff was consistently among the most powerful methods. Conclusion: This study illustrates the need for more thorough simulation studies when evaluating novel methods. More work must be done to develop methods with well-controlled Type I error that do not require individual-level data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha Lent
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
| | - Andres Cardenas
- Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94704, USA
| | - Sheryl L Rifas-Shiman
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School & Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Patrice Perron
- Department of Medicine, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, J1H 5N4, Canada.,Centre de Recherche, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, J1H 5N4, Canada
| | - Luigi Bouchard
- Centre de Recherche, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, J1H 5N4, Canada.,Department of Biochemistry & Functional Genomics, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, J1H 5N4, Canada.,Department of Medical Biology, CIUSSS Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Hôpital de Chicoutimi, Saguenay, QC, G7H 5H6, Canada
| | - Ching-Ti Liu
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
| | - Marie-France Hivert
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School & Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.,Department of Medicine, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, J1H 5N4, Canada.,Diabetes Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02114, USA
| | - Josée Dupuis
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
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Pichon F, Shen Y, Busato F, P Jochems S, Jacquelin B, Grand RL, Deleuze JF, Müller-Trutwin M, Tost J. Analysis and annotation of DNA methylation in two nonhuman primate species using the Infinium Human Methylation 450K and EPIC BeadChips. Epigenomics 2021; 13:169-186. [PMID: 33471557 DOI: 10.2217/epi-2020-0200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Aim: Nonhuman primates are essential for research on many human diseases. The Infinium Human Methylation450/EPIC BeadChips are popular tools for the study of the methylation state across the human genome at affordable cost. Methods: We performed a precise evaluation and re-annotation of the BeadChip probes for the analysis of genome-wide DNA methylation patterns in rhesus macaques and African green monkeys through in silico analyses combined with functional validation by pyrosequencing. Results: Up to 165,847 of the 450K and 261,545 probes of the EPIC BeadChip can be reliably used. The annotation files are provided in a format compatible with a variety of standard bioinformatic pipelines. Conclusion: Our study will facilitate high-throughput DNA methylation analyses in Macaca mulatta and Chlorocebus sabaeus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabien Pichon
- Laboratory for Epigenetics & Environment, Centre National de Recherche en Génomique Humaine, CEA-Institut de Biologie François Jacob, Evry, France
| | - Yimin Shen
- Laboratory for Epigenetics & Environment, Centre National de Recherche en Génomique Humaine, CEA-Institut de Biologie François Jacob, Evry, France.,Laboratory for Bioinformatics, Fondation Jean Dausset - Centre d'Etude du Polymorphisme Humain, 75010 Paris, France
| | - Florence Busato
- Laboratory for Epigenetics & Environment, Centre National de Recherche en Génomique Humaine, CEA-Institut de Biologie François Jacob, Evry, France
| | - Simon P Jochems
- Institut Pasteur, HIV Inflammation & Persistence Unit, Paris, France.,Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France.,Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - Roger Le Grand
- Université Paris-Saclay, Inserm, CEA, Center for Immunology of Viral, Auto-immune, Hematological and Bacterial diseases (IMVA-HB/IDMIT), Fontenay-aux-Roses, France
| | - Jean-Francois Deleuze
- Laboratory for Epigenetics & Environment, Centre National de Recherche en Génomique Humaine, CEA-Institut de Biologie François Jacob, Evry, France.,Laboratory for Bioinformatics, Fondation Jean Dausset - Centre d'Etude du Polymorphisme Humain, 75010 Paris, France
| | | | - Jörg Tost
- Laboratory for Epigenetics & Environment, Centre National de Recherche en Génomique Humaine, CEA-Institut de Biologie François Jacob, Evry, France
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Robinson N, Brown H, Antoun E, Godfrey KM, Hanson MA, Lillycrop KA, Crozier SR, Murray R, Pearce MS, Relton CL, Albani V, McKay JA. Childhood DNA methylation as a marker of early life rapid weight gain and subsequent overweight. Clin Epigenetics 2021; 13:8. [PMID: 33436068 PMCID: PMC7805168 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-020-00952-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND High early postnatal weight gain has been associated with childhood adiposity; however, the mechanism remains unknown. DNA methylation is a hypothesised mechanism linking early life exposures and subsequent disease. However, epigenetic changes associated with high early weight gain have not previously been investigated. Our aim was to investigate the associations between early weight gain, peripheral blood DNA methylation, and subsequent overweight/obese. Data from the UK Avon Longitudinal study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) cohort were used to estimate associations between early postnatal weight gain and epigenome-wide DNA CpG site methylation (Illumina 450 K Methylation Beadchip) in blood in childhood (n = 125) and late adolescence (n = 96). High weight gain in the first year (a change in weight z-scores > 0.67), both unconditional (rapid weight gain) and conditional on birthweight (rapid thrive), was related to individual CpG site methylation and across regions using the meffil pipeline, with and without adjustment for cell type proportions, and with 5% false discovery rate correction. Variation in methylation at high weight gain-associated CpG sites was then examined with regard to body composition measures in childhood and adolescence. Replication of the differentially methylated CpG sites was sought using whole-blood DNA samples from 104 children from the UK Southampton Women's Survey. RESULTS Rapid infant weight gain was associated with small (+ 1% change) increases in childhood methylation (age 7) for two distinct CpG sites (cg01379158 (NT5M) and cg11531579 (CHFR)). Childhood methylation at one of these CpGs (cg11531579) was also higher in those who experienced rapid weight gain and were subsequently overweight/obese in adolescence (age 17). Rapid weight gain was not associated with differential DNA methylation in adolescence. Childhood methylation at the cg11531579 site was also suggestively associated with rapid weight gain in the replication cohort. CONCLUSIONS This study identified associations between rapid weight gain in infancy and small increases in childhood methylation at two CpG sites, one of which was replicated and was also associated with subsequent overweight/obese. It will be important to determine whether loci are markers of early rapid weight gain across different, larger populations. The mechanistic relevance of these differentially methylated sites requires further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Robinson
- Population Health Sciences, Newcastle University Medical School, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
| | - H Brown
- Population Health Sciences, Newcastle University Medical School, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Elie Antoun
- Institute of Developmental Sciences, Biological Sciences and NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Keith M Godfrey
- MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit and NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
| | - Mark A Hanson
- Institute of Developmental Sciences, Biological Sciences and NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Karen A Lillycrop
- Institute of Developmental Sciences, Biological Sciences and NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Sarah R Crozier
- MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit and NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
| | - Robert Murray
- Institute of Developmental Sciences, Biological Sciences and NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - M S Pearce
- Population Health Sciences, Newcastle University Medical School, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - C L Relton
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - V Albani
- Population Health Sciences, Newcastle University Medical School, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - J A McKay
- Department of Applied Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
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Abstract
BACKGROUND DNA methylation (DNAm) profiling has emerged as a powerful tool for characterizing the placental methylome. However, previous studies have focused primarily on whole placental tissue, which is a mixture of epigenetically distinct cell populations. Here, we present the first methylome-wide analysis of first trimester (n = 9) and term (n = 19) human placental samples of four cell populations: trophoblasts, Hofbauer cells, endothelial cells, and stromal cells, using the Illumina EPIC methylation array, which quantifies DNAm at > 850,000 CpGs. RESULTS The most distinct DNAm profiles were those of placental trophoblasts, which are central to many pregnancy-essential functions, and Hofbauer cells, which are a rare fetal-derived macrophage population. Cell-specific DNAm occurs at functionally-relevant genes, including genes associated with placental development and preeclampsia. Known placental-specific methylation marks, such as those associated with genomic imprinting, repetitive element hypomethylation, and placental partially methylated domains, were found to be more pronounced in trophoblasts and often absent in Hofbauer cells. Lastly, we characterize the cell composition and cell-specific DNAm dynamics across gestation. CONCLUSIONS Our results provide a comprehensive analysis of DNAm in human placental cell types from first trimester and term pregnancies. This data will serve as a useful DNAm reference for future placental studies, and we provide access to this data via download from GEO (GSE159526), through interactive exploration from the web browser ( https://robinsonlab.shinyapps.io/Placental_Methylome_Browser/ ), and through the R package planet, which allows estimation of cell composition directly from placental DNAm data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Yuan
- BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC Canada
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Canada
| | - Desmond Hui
- BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC Canada
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Canada
| | - Yifan Yin
- BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC Canada
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Canada
| | - Maria S. Peñaherrera
- BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC Canada
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Canada
| | - Alexander G. Beristain
- BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC Canada
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Canada
| | - Wendy P. Robinson
- BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC Canada
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Canada
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40
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Ghazarian AA, Simonds NI, Lai GY, Mechanic LE. Opportunities for Gene and Environment Research in Cancer: An Updated Review of NCI's Extramural Grant Portfolio. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020; 30:576-583. [PMID: 33323360 DOI: 10.1158/1055-9965.epi-20-1264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2020] [Revised: 10/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The study of gene-environment (GxE) interactions is a research priority for the NCI. Previously, our group analyzed NCI's extramural grant portfolio from fiscal years (FY) 2007 to 2009 to determine the state of the science in GxE research. This study builds upon our previous effort and examines changes in the landscape of GxE cancer research funded by NCI. METHODS The NCI grant portfolio was examined from FY 2010 to 2018 using the iSearch application. A time-trend analysis was conducted to explore changes over the study interval. RESULTS A total of 107 grants met the search criteria and were abstracted. The most common cancer types studied were breast (19.6%) and colorectal (18.7%). Most grants focused on GxE using specific candidate genes (69.2%) compared with agnostic approaches using genome-wide (26.2%) or whole-exome/whole-genome next-generation sequencing (NGS) approaches (19.6%); some grants used more than one approach to assess genetic variation. More funded grants incorporated NGS technologies in FY 2016-2018 compared with prior FYs. Environmental exposures most commonly examined were energy balance (46.7%) and drugs/treatment (40.2%). Over the time interval, we observed a decrease in energy balance applications with a concurrent increase in drug/treatment applications. CONCLUSIONS Research in GxE interactions has continued to concentrate on common cancers, while there have been some shifts in focus of genetic and environmental exposures. Opportunities exist to study less common cancers, apply new technologies, and increase racial/ethnic diversity. IMPACT This analysis of NCI's extramural grant portfolio updates previous efforts and provides a review of NCI grant support for GxE research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Armen A Ghazarian
- Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program (EGRP), Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS), NCI, Bethesda, Maryland
| | | | - Gabriel Y Lai
- Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program (EGRP), Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS), NCI, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Leah E Mechanic
- Genomic Epidemiology Branch, EGRP, DCCPS, NCI, Bethesda, Maryland.
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41
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Ben Maamar M, Nilsson E, Thorson JLM, Beck D, Skinner MK. Epigenome-wide association study for transgenerational disease sperm epimutation biomarkers following ancestral exposure to jet fuel hydrocarbons. Reprod Toxicol 2020; 98:61-74. [PMID: 32905848 PMCID: PMC7736201 DOI: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2020.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2020] [Revised: 08/20/2020] [Accepted: 08/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Jet fuel hydrocarbons is the generic name for aviation fuels used in gas-turbine engine powered aircraft. The Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion created the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history, and the second largest oil spill in human history with over 800 million liters of hydrocarbons released into the Gulf of Mexico over a period of 3 months. Due to the widespread use of jet fuel hydrocarbons, this compound mixture has been recognized as the single largest chemical exposure for military personnel. Previous animal studies have demonstrated the ability of jet fuel (JP-8) exposure to promote the epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of disease susceptibility in subsequent generations. The diseases observed include late puberty, kidney, obesity and multiple disease pathologies. The current study is distinct and was designed to identify potential sperm DNA methylation biomarkers for specific transgenerational diseases. Observations show disease specific differential DNA methylation regions (DMRs) called epimutations in the transgenerational F3 generation great-grand-offspring male rats ancestrally exposed to jet fuel. The potential epigenetic DMR biomarkers were identified for late puberty, kidney, obesity, and multiple diseases, and found to be predominantly disease specific. These disease specific DMRs have associated genes that were previously shown to be linked with each of these specific diseases. Therefore, the germline (i.e. sperm) has environmentally induced ancestrally derived epimutations that have the potential to transgenerationally transmit disease susceptibilities to subsequent generations. Epigenetic biomarkers for specific diseases could be developed as medical diagnostics to facilitate clinical management of disease, and allow preventative medicine therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Millissia Ben Maamar
- Center for Reproductive Biology, School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164-4236, USA
| | - Eric Nilsson
- Center for Reproductive Biology, School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164-4236, USA
| | - Jennifer L M Thorson
- Center for Reproductive Biology, School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164-4236, USA
| | - Daniel Beck
- Center for Reproductive Biology, School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164-4236, USA
| | - Michael K Skinner
- Center for Reproductive Biology, School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164-4236, USA.
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Corbett RJ, Te Pas MFW, van den Brand H, Groenen MAM, Crooijmans RPMA, Ernst CW, Madsen O. Genome-Wide Assessment of DNA Methylation in Chicken Cardiac Tissue Exposed to Different Incubation Temperatures and CO 2 Levels. Front Genet 2020; 11:558189. [PMID: 33193638 PMCID: PMC7655987 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2020.558189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2020] [Accepted: 09/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Temperature and CO2 concentration during incubation have profound effects on broiler chick development, and numerous studies have identified significant effects on hatch heart weight (HW) as a result of differences in these parameters. Early life environment has also been shown to affect broiler performance later in life; it has thus been suggested that epigenetic mechanisms may mediate long-term physiological changes induced by environmental stimuli. DNA methylation is an epigenetic modification that can confer heritable changes in gene expression. Using reduced-representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS), we assessed DNA methylation patterns in cardiac tissue of 84 broiler hatchlings incubated at two egg shell temperatures (EST; 37.8°C and 38.9°C) and three CO2 concentrations (0.1%, 0.4%, and 0.8%) from day 8 of incubation onward. We assessed differential methylation between EST treatments and identified 2,175 differentially methylated (DM) CpGs (1,121 hypermethylated, 1,054 hypomethylated at 38.9° vs. 37.8°) in 269 gene promoters and 949 intragenic regions. DM genes (DMGs) were associated with heart developmental processes, including cardiomyocyte proliferation and differentiation. We identified enriched binding motifs among DM loci, including those for transcription factors associated with cell proliferation and heart development among hypomethylated CpGs that suggest increased binding ability at higher EST. We identified 9,823 DM CpGs between at least two CO2 treatments, with the greatest difference observed between 0.8 and 0.1% CO2 that disproportionately impacted genes involved in cardiac muscle development and response to low oxygen levels. Using HW measurements from the same chicks, we performed an epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) for HW, and identified 23 significantly associated CpGs, nine of which were also DM between ESTs. We found corresponding differences in transcript abundance between ESTs in three DMGs (ABLIM2, PITX2, and THRSP). Hypomethylation of an exonic CpG in PITX2 at 38.9°C was associated with increased expression, and suggests increased cell proliferation in broiler hatchlings incubated at higher temperatures. Overall, these results identified numerous epigenetic associations between chick incubation factors and heart development that may manifest in long-term differences in animal performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan J Corbett
- Genetics and Genome Sciences Graduate Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Marinus F W Te Pas
- Animal Breeding and Genomics, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Henry van den Brand
- Adaptation Physiology Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Martien A M Groenen
- Animal Breeding and Genomics, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | | | - Catherine W Ernst
- Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Ole Madsen
- Animal Breeding and Genomics, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
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43
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Hillary RF, Trejo-Banos D, Kousathanas A, McCartney DL, Harris SE, Stevenson AJ, Patxot M, Ojavee SE, Zhang Q, Liewald DC, Ritchie CW, Evans KL, Tucker-Drob EM, Wray NR, McRae AF, Visscher PM, Deary IJ, Robinson MR, Marioni RE. Multi-method genome- and epigenome-wide studies of inflammatory protein levels in healthy older adults. Genome Med 2020; 12:60. [PMID: 32641083 PMCID: PMC7346642 DOI: 10.1186/s13073-020-00754-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2020] [Accepted: 06/10/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The molecular factors which control circulating levels of inflammatory proteins are not well understood. Furthermore, association studies between molecular probes and human traits are often performed by linear model-based methods which may fail to account for complex structure and interrelationships within molecular datasets. METHODS In this study, we perform genome- and epigenome-wide association studies (GWAS/EWAS) on the levels of 70 plasma-derived inflammatory protein biomarkers in healthy older adults (Lothian Birth Cohort 1936; n = 876; Olink® inflammation panel). We employ a Bayesian framework (BayesR+) which can account for issues pertaining to data structure and unknown confounding variables (with sensitivity analyses using ordinary least squares- (OLS) and mixed model-based approaches). RESULTS We identified 13 SNPs associated with 13 proteins (n = 1 SNP each) concordant across OLS and Bayesian methods. We identified 3 CpG sites spread across 3 proteins (n = 1 CpG each) that were concordant across OLS, mixed-model and Bayesian analyses. Tagged genetic variants accounted for up to 45% of variance in protein levels (for MCP2, 36% of variance alone attributable to 1 polymorphism). Methylation data accounted for up to 46% of variation in protein levels (for CXCL10). Up to 66% of variation in protein levels (for VEGFA) was explained using genetic and epigenetic data combined. We demonstrated putative causal relationships between CD6 and IL18R1 with inflammatory bowel disease and between IL12B and Crohn's disease. CONCLUSIONS Our data may aid understanding of the molecular regulation of the circulating inflammatory proteome as well as causal relationships between inflammatory mediators and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert F Hillary
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Daniel Trejo-Banos
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Athanasios Kousathanas
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Daniel L McCartney
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Sarah E Harris
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Anna J Stevenson
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Marion Patxot
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Sven Erik Ojavee
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Qian Zhang
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, 4072, Australia
| | - David C Liewald
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Craig W Ritchie
- Edinburgh Dementia Prevention, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH16 4UX, UK
| | - Kathryn L Evans
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Elliot M Tucker-Drob
- Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
- Population Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Naomi R Wray
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, 4072, Australia
| | - Allan F McRae
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, 4072, Australia
| | - Peter M Visscher
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, 4072, Australia
| | - Ian J Deary
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Matthew R Robinson
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 3400, Klosterneuburg, Austria.
| | - Riccardo E Marioni
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK.
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44
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Martorell-Marugán J, González-Rumayor V, Carmona-Sáez P. mCSEA: detecting subtle differentially methylated regions. Bioinformatics 2020; 35:3257-3262. [PMID: 30753302 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btz096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2018] [Revised: 01/09/2019] [Accepted: 02/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION The identification of differentially methylated regions (DMRs) among phenotypes is one of the main goals of epigenetic analysis. Although there are several methods developed to detect DMRs, most of them are focused on detecting relatively large differences in methylation levels and fail to detect moderate, but consistent, methylation changes that might be associated to complex disorders. RESULTS We present mCSEA, an R package that implements a Gene Set Enrichment Analysis method to identify DMRs from Illumina450K and EPIC array data. It is especially useful for detecting subtle, but consistent, methylation differences in complex phenotypes. mCSEA also implements functions to integrate gene expression data and to detect genes with significant correlations among methylation and gene expression patterns. Using simulated datasets we show that mCSEA outperforms other tools in detecting DMRs. In addition, we applied mCSEA to a previously published dataset of sibling pairs discordant for intrauterine hyperglycemia exposure. We found several differentially methylated promoters in genes related to metabolic disorders like obesity and diabetes, demonstrating the potential of mCSEA to identify DMRs not detected by other methods. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION mCSEA is freely available from the Bioconductor repository. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordi Martorell-Marugán
- Bioinformatics Unit. GENYO. Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research: Pfizer, University of Granada, Andalusian Regional Government, Granada, Spain.,Atrys Health, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Pedro Carmona-Sáez
- Bioinformatics Unit. GENYO. Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research: Pfizer, University of Granada, Andalusian Regional Government, Granada, Spain
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45
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Trejo Banos D, McCartney DL, Patxot M, Anchieri L, Battram T, Christiansen C, Costeira R, Walker RM, Morris SW, Campbell A, Zhang Q, Porteous DJ, McRae AF, Wray NR, Visscher PM, Haley CS, Evans KL, Deary IJ, McIntosh AM, Hemani G, Bell JT, Marioni RE, Robinson MR. Bayesian reassessment of the epigenetic architecture of complex traits. Nat Commun 2020; 11:2865. [PMID: 32513961 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16520-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2019] [Accepted: 05/05/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Linking epigenetic marks to clinical outcomes improves insight into molecular processes, disease prediction, and therapeutic target identification. Here, a statistical approach is presented to infer the epigenetic architecture of complex disease, determine the variation captured by epigenetic effects, and estimate phenotype-epigenetic probe associations jointly. Implicitly adjusting for probe correlations, data structure (cell-count or relatedness), and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker effects, improves association estimates and in 9,448 individuals, 75.7% (95% CI 71.70-79.3) of body mass index (BMI) variation and 45.6% (95% CI 37.3-51.9) of cigarette consumption variation was captured by whole blood methylation array data. Pathway-linked probes of blood cholesterol, lipid transport and sterol metabolism for BMI, and xenobiotic stimuli response for smoking, showed >1.5 times larger associations with >95% posterior inclusion probability. Prediction accuracy improved by 28.7% for BMI and 10.2% for smoking over a LASSO model, with age-, and tissue-specificity, implying associations are a phenotypic consequence rather than causal.
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46
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Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. Complex diseases with highly heterogenous disease progression among patient populations, cardiovascular diseases feature multifactorial contributions from both genetic and environmental stressors. Despite significant effort utilizing multiple approaches from molecular biology to genome-wide association studies, the genetic landscape of cardiovascular diseases, particularly for the nonfamilial forms of heart failure, is still poorly understood. In the past decade, systems-level approaches based on omics technologies have become an important approach for the study of complex traits in large populations. These advances create opportunities to integrate genetic variation with other biological layers to identify and prioritize candidate genes, understand pathogenic pathways, and elucidate gene-gene and gene-environment interactions. In this review, we will highlight some of the recent progress made using systems genetics approaches to uncover novel mechanisms and molecular bases of cardiovascular pathophysiological manifestations. The key technology and data analysis platforms necessary to implement systems genetics will be described, and the current major challenges and future directions will also be discussed. For complex cardiovascular diseases, such as heart failure, systems genetics represents a powerful strategy to obtain mechanistic insights and to develop individualized diagnostic and therapeutic regiments, paving the way for precision cardiovascular medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph D. Rau
- Departments of Anesthesiology, Medicine, Physiology
- Current address: Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
| | - Aldons J. Lusis
- Department of Human Genetics and Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Yibin Wang
- Departments of Anesthesiology, Medicine, Physiology
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47
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Corbin KR, Bolt B, Rodríguez López CM. Breeding for Beneficial Microbial Communities Using Epigenomics. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:937. [PMID: 32477316 PMCID: PMC7242621 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2020] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Kendall R Corbin
- Environmental Epigenetics and Genetics Group, Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States.,Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Bridget Bolt
- Environmental Epigenetics and Genetics Group, Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Carlos M Rodríguez López
- Environmental Epigenetics and Genetics Group, Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
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48
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Liu D, Zhao L, Wang Z, Zhou X, Fan X, Li Y, Xu J, Hu S, Niu M, Song X, Li Y, Zuo L, Lei C, Zhang M, Tang G, Huang M, Zhang N, Duan L, Lv H, Zhang M, Li J, Xu L, Kong F, Feng R, Jiang Y. EWASdb: epigenome-wide association study database. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 47:D989-D993. [PMID: 30321400 PMCID: PMC6323898 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gky942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2018] [Accepted: 10/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA methylation, the most intensively studied epigenetic modification, plays an important role in understanding the molecular basis of diseases. Furthermore, epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) provides a systematic approach to identify epigenetic variants underlying common diseases/phenotypes. However, there is no comprehensive database to archive the results of EWASs. To fill this gap, we developed the EWASdb, which is a part of 'The EWAS Project', to store the epigenetic association results of DNA methylation from EWASs. In its current version (v 1.0, up to July 2018), the EWASdb has curated 1319 EWASs associated with 302 diseases/phenotypes. There are three types of EWAS results curated in this database: (i) EWAS for single marker; (ii) EWAS for KEGG pathway and (iii) EWAS for GO (Gene Ontology) category. As the first comprehensive EWAS database, EWASdb has been searched or downloaded by researchers from 43 countries to date. We believe that EWASdb will become a valuable resource and significantly contribute to the epigenetic research of diseases/phenotypes and have potential clinical applications. EWASdb is freely available at http://www.ewas.org.cn/ewasdb or http://www.bioapp.org/ewasdb.
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Affiliation(s)
- Di Liu
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.,Training Center for Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Linna Zhao
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.,Training Center for Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Zhaoyang Wang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.,Training Center for Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Xu Zhou
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.,Training Center for Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Xiuzhao Fan
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.,Training Center for Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Yong Li
- Training Center for Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Jing Xu
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.,Training Center for Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Simeng Hu
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.,Training Center for Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Miaomiao Niu
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.,Training Center for Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Xiuling Song
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.,Training Center for Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Ying Li
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.,Training Center for Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Lijiao Zuo
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.,Training Center for Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Changgui Lei
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.,Training Center for Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Meng Zhang
- Training Center for Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.,Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Public Health College, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Guoping Tang
- The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang, China
| | - Min Huang
- Training Center for Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.,Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Public Health College, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Nan Zhang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.,Training Center for Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Lian Duan
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Hongchao Lv
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Mingming Zhang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Jin Li
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Liangde Xu
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.,Training Center for Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Fanwu Kong
- Department of Nephrology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Rennan Feng
- Training Center for Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.,Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Public Health College, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Yongshuai Jiang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.,Training Center for Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
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49
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Morimoto Y, Ono S, Kurotaki N, Imamura A, Ozawa H. Genetic and epigenetic analyses of panic disorder in the post-GWAS era. J Neural Transm (Vienna) 2020; 127:1517-26. [PMID: 32388794 DOI: 10.1007/s00702-020-02205-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2020] [Accepted: 05/03/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Panic disorder (PD) is a common and debilitating neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by panic attacks coupled with excessive anxiety. Both genetic factors and environmental factors play an important role in PD pathogenesis and response to treatment. However, PD is clinically heterogeneous and genetically complex, and the exact genetic or environmental causes of this disorder remain unclear. Various approaches for detecting disease-causing genes have recently been made available. In particular, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have attracted attention for the identification of disease-associated loci of multifactorial disorders. This review introduces GWAS of PD, followed by a discussion about the limitations of GWAS and the major challenges facing geneticists in the post-GWAS era. Alternative strategies to address these challenges are then proposed, such as epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) and rare variant association studies (RVAS) using next-generation sequencing. To date, however, few reports have described these analyses, and the evidence remains insufficient to confidently identify or exclude rare variants or epigenetic changes in PD. Further analyses are therefore required, using sample sizes in the tens of thousands, extensive functional annotations, and highly targeted hypothesis testing.
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50
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Gatev E, Gladish N, Mostafavi S, Kobor MS. CoMeBack: DNA methylation array data analysis for co-methylated regions. Bioinformatics 2020; 36:2675-2683. [DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btaa049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2019] [Revised: 12/23/2019] [Accepted: 01/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Motivation
High-dimensional DNA methylation (DNAm) array coverage, while sparse in the context of the entire DNA methylome, still constitutes a very large number of CpG probes. The ensuing multiple-test corrections affect the statistical power to detect associations, likely contributing to prevalent limited reproducibility. Array probes measuring proximal CpG sites often have correlated levels of DNAm that may not only be biologically meaningful but also imply statistical dependence and redundancy. New methods that account for such correlations between adjacent probes may enable improved specificity, discovery and interpretation of statistical associations in DNAm array data.
Results
We developed a method named Co-Methylation with genomic CpG Background (CoMeBack) that estimates DNA co-methylation, defined as proximal CpG probes with correlated DNAm across individuals. CoMeBack outputs co-methylated regions (CMRs), spanning sets of array probes constructed based on all genomic CpG sites, including those not measured on the array, and without any phenotypic variable inputs. This approach can reduce the multiple-test correction burden, while enhancing the discovery and specificity of statistical associations. We constructed and validated CMRs in whole blood, using publicly available Illumina Infinium 450 K array data from over 5000 individuals. These CMRs were enriched for enhancer chromatin states, and binding site motifs for several transcription factors involved in blood physiology. We illustrated how CMR-based epigenome-wide association studies can improve discovery and reduce false positives for associations with chronological age.
Availability and implementation
https://bitbucket.org/flopflip/comeback.
Supplementary information
Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan Gatev
- Graduate Program in Bioinformatics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V5T 4S6, Canada
- Department of Finance, Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
- BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - Nicole Gladish
- BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada
- Department of Medical Genetics
| | - Sara Mostafavi
- BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada
- Department of Medical Genetics
- Department of Statistics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Michael S Kobor
- BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada
- Department of Medical Genetics
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