scholarly journals Novel DNA methylation signatures of tobacco smoking with trans-ethnic effects

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Christiansen ◽  
J. E. Castillo-Fernandez ◽  
A. Domingo-Relloso ◽  
W. Zhao ◽  
J. S. El-Sayed Moustafa ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Smoking remains one of the leading preventable causes of death. Smoking leaves a strong signature on the blood methylome as shown in multiple studies using the Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip. Here, we explore novel blood methylation smoking signals on the Illumina MethylationEPIC BeadChip (EPIC) array, which also targets novel CpG-sites in enhancers. Method A smoking-methylation meta-analysis was carried out using EPIC DNA methylation profiles in 1407 blood samples from four UK population-based cohorts, including the MRC National Survey for Health and Development (NSHD) or 1946 British birth cohort, the National Child Development Study (NCDS) or 1958 birth cohort, the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70), and the TwinsUK cohort (TwinsUK). The overall discovery sample included 269 current, 497 former, and 643 never smokers. Replication was pursued in 3425 trans-ethnic samples, including 2325 American Indian individuals participating in the Strong Heart Study (SHS) in 1989–1991 and 1100 African-American participants in the Genetic Epidemiology Network of Arteriopathy Study (GENOA). Results Altogether 952 CpG-sites in 500 genes were differentially methylated between smokers and never smokers after Bonferroni correction. There were 526 novel smoking-associated CpG-sites only profiled by the EPIC array, of which 486 (92%) replicated in a meta-analysis of the American Indian and African-American samples. Novel CpG sites mapped both to genes containing previously identified smoking-methylation signals and to 80 novel genes not previously linked to smoking, with the strongest novel signal in SLAMF7. Comparison of former versus never smokers identified that 37 of these sites were persistently differentially methylated after cessation, where 16 represented novel signals only profiled by the EPIC array. We observed a depletion of smoking-associated signals in CpG islands and an enrichment in enhancer regions, consistent with previous results. Conclusion This study identified novel smoking-associated signals as possible biomarkers of exposure to smoking and may help improve our understanding of smoking-related disease risk.

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maaike de Vries ◽  
◽  
Ivana Nedeljkovic ◽  
Diana A. van der Plaat ◽  
Alexandra Zhernakova ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Active smoking is the main risk factor for COPD. Here, epigenetic mechanisms may play a role, since cigarette smoking is associated with differential DNA methylation in whole blood. So far, it is unclear whether epigenetics also play a role in subjects with COPD who never smoked. Therefore, we aimed to identify differential DNA methylation associated with lung function in never smokers. Methods We determined epigenome-wide DNA methylation levels of 396,243 CpG-sites (Illumina 450 K) in blood of never smokers in four independent cohorts, LifeLines COPD&C (N = 903), LifeLines DEEP (N = 166), Rotterdam Study (RS)-III (N = 150) and RS-BIOS (N = 206). We meta-analyzed the cohort-specific methylation results to identify differentially methylated CpG-sites with FEV1/FVC. Expression Quantitative Trait Methylation (eQTM) analysis was performed in the Biobank-based Integrative Omics Studies (BIOS). Results A total of 36 CpG-sites were associated with FEV1/FVC in never smokers at p-value< 0.0001, but the meta-analysis did not reveal any epigenome-wide significant CpG-sites. Of interest, 35 of these 36 CpG-sites have not been associated with lung function before in studies including subjects irrespective of smoking history. Among the top hits were cg10012512, cg02885771, annotated to the gene LTV1 Ribosome Biogenesis factor (LTV1), and cg25105536, annotated to Kelch Like Family Member 32 (KLHL32). Moreover, a total of 11 eQTMS were identified. Conclusions With the identification of 35 CpG-sites that are unique for never smokers, our study shows that DNA methylation is also associated with FEV1/FVC in subjects that never smoked and therefore not merely related to smoking.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivia A Grant ◽  
Yucheng Wang ◽  
Meena Kumari ◽  
Nicolae Radu Zabet ◽  
Leonard C Schalkwyk

Sex differences are known to play a role in disease etiology, progression and outcome. Previous studies have revealed autosomal epigenetic differences between males and females in some tissues, including differences in DNA methylation patterns. Here, we report for the first time an analysis of autosomal sex differences in DNAme using the Illumina EPIC array in human whole blood (n=1171). We identified 554 sex-associated differentially methylated CpG sites (saDMPs) with the majority found to be hypermethylated in females (70%). These saDMP's are enriched in CpG islands and CpG shores and located preferentially at 5'UTRs, 3'UTRs and enhancers. Additionally, we identified 311 significant sex associated differentially methylated regions (saDMRs). Transcription factor binding site enrichment revealed enrichment of transcription factors related to critical developmental processes and sex determination such as SRY and SOX9. Our study reports a reliable catalogue of sex associated CpG sites and elucidates several characteristics of these sites.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilhame Diboun ◽  
Sachin Wani ◽  
Stuart H Ralston ◽  
Omar M E Albagha

AbstractPaget’s Disease of Bone (PDB) is characterized by focal increases in disorganized bone remodeling. This study aims to characterize PDB associated changes in DNA methylation profiles in patients’ blood. Meta-analysis of data from the discovery and replication set, comprising of 116 PDB cases and 130 controls, revealed significant differences in DNA methylation at 14 CpG sites, 4 CpG islands, and 6 gene-body regions. These loci, including two characterized as functional through eQTM analysis, were associated with functions related to osteoclast differentiation, mechanical loading, immune function, and viral infection. A multivariate classifier based on discovery samples was found to discriminate PDB cases and controls from the replication with a sensitivity of 0.84, specificity of 0.81, and an area under curve of 92.8%. In conclusion, this study has shown for the first time that epigenetic factors contribute to the pathogenesis of PDB and may offer diagnostic markers for prediction of the disease.


2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittany Butts ◽  
Javed Butler

Introduction: Heart failure (HF) is associated with formation and activation of inflammasome, a complex of intracellular interaction proteins that trigger maturation of inflammatory cytokines to initiate inflammatory response. ASC, a vital component of the inflammasome, is controlled through epigenetic modification via methylation of CpG islands surrounding exon 1. Methods: To assess the relationships between DNA methylation of ASC, ASC expression, and inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-18 in HF, stored samples from 155 chronic HF patients (age 56.9±12.0 yr, 64% male, 47% black, and ejection fraction 29.9±14.9) were analyzed. DNA extracted from PMBCs were analyzed by pyrosequencing for percent methylation of seven CpG sites in the intron region preceding exon 1 of the ASC gene. ASC mRNA was quantified via real-time PCR and analyzed as the ratio ASC:GAPDH. Serum ASC, IL-1β, and IL-18 were measured by ELISA. Results: Higher ASC methylation was associated with lower ASC mRNA (r=0-.328, p<0.001) and protein (r=-.464, p<0.001) expression. Lower ASC mRNA expression was associated with lower ASC protein expression (r=0.494, p<0.001). Decreased IL-1β expression was associated with higher ASC methylation (r=-.424, p=0.005) and lower ASC mRNA (r=.619, p<0.001) and ASC protein (r=.433, p<0.001). IL-18 expression was not significantly associated with ASC methylation or expression. Conclusions: Increased ASC methylation was associated with lower IL-1β, likely via decreased ASC gene expression. As ASC is required for inflammasome activation of IL-1β, this study implicates the inflammasome pathway as a driver of inflammation in HF, proving a potential target for novel interventions.


2021 ◽  
pp. 109980042110390
Author(s):  
Amanda Elswick Gentry ◽  
Jo Robins ◽  
Mat Makowski ◽  
Wendy Kliewer

Background: Cardiovascular disease disproportionately affects African Americans as the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Among African Americans, compared to other racial groups, cardiovascular disease onset occurs at an earlier age due to a higher prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors, particularly obesity, hypertension and type 2 diabetes. Emerging evidence suggests that heritable epigenetic processes are related to increased cardiovascular disease risk, but this is largely unexplored in adolescents or across generations. Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional descriptive pilot study in low-income African American mother-adolescent dyads, we examined associations between DNA methylation and the cardiometabolic indicators of body mass index, waist circumference, and insulin resistance. Results: Four adjacent cytosine and guanine nucleotides (CpG) sites were significantly differentially methylated and associated with C-reactive protein (CRP), 62 with waist circumference, and none to insulin resistance in models for both mothers and adolescents. Conclusion: Further study of the relations among psychological and environmental stressors, indicators of cardiovascular disease, risk, and epigenetic factors will improve understanding of cardiovascular disease risk so that preventive measures can be instituted earlier and more effectively. To our knowledge this work is the first to examine DNA methylation and cardiometabolic risk outcomes in mother-adolescent dyads.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. iii65-iii66
Author(s):  
M Q S Mosella ◽  
T S Sabedot ◽  
T M Malta ◽  
J Rock ◽  
M Felicella ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND Despite histologically benign, pituitary tumors (PT) may invade important adjacent neurovascular structures which can incur in significant comorbidities preventing a complete surgical resection and contributing to resistance to medical treatment. DNA methylation clearly stratified PT based on their functional status i.e. nonfunctioning PTs (NFPTs) from functioning PT (FPTs). However associations of methylation aberrations with invasive behavior is less clear. MATERIAL AND METHODS In order to evaluate whether DNA methylation alterations in regulatory regions other than promoter and coding regions are associated with invasive behavior we performed a meta-analysis of the genome-wide methylome of three public available PT cohorts plus our own (Illumina HumanMethylation platforms- 450K/EPIC). Pituitary specimens comprised of 43 invasive pituitary tumors (InvPT) and 37 noninvasive (NInvPT); 12 FPT and 68 NFPTs, in addition to 20 non-tumor pituitaries. RNA-seq data were available for one cohort (n=23, 12 InvPT,11NInvPT) and integrated with DNA methylation. Invasiveness criteria was based on Knosp grade >= 2 and/or sphenoid or dural invasion. RESULTS Wilcoxon Rank-sum test; Δβ=0.15; p-value <0.001 identified 58 differentially methylated CpG sites in InvPT that were mainly hypomethylated (95%) in relation to NInvPT. NInvPT methylation profile was similar to non-tumor specimens, despite its heterogeneity. Thirty-four percent (n=20) of the differentially methylated CpG sites were located within predicted enhancer regions distributed in intronic (40%), intergenic (40%) and promoter (20%) regions. Predicted enhancer-target genes were enriched for actin filament cell movement, response to starvation, growth factor stimulus and protein autophosporilation pathways. Among them, ZNF625 and INO80E were found mostly negative correlated among methylation and expression data (-0.50 and -0.48, respectively), besides DOC2A found to be one potentially differentially expressed gene under enhancer control (log2FC > 0.2, pvalue <0.05). CONCLUSION Our results suggest that methylation alterations in predicted regulatory regions, such as enhancers, annotated in non-promoter regions (introns and intergenic) may contribute to the invasive behavior of PT.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 662-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas A Salas ◽  
Sara N Lundgren ◽  
Eva P Browne ◽  
Elizabeth C Punska ◽  
Douglas L Anderton ◽  
...  

Abstract Prior candidate gene studies have shown tumor suppressor DNA methylation in breast milk related with history of breast biopsy, an established risk factor for breast cancer. To further establish the utility of breast milk as a tissue-specific biospecimen for investigations of breast carcinogenesis, we measured genome-wide DNA methylation in breast milk from women with and without a diagnosis of breast cancer in two independent cohorts. DNA methylation was assessed using Illumina HumanMethylation450k in 87 breast milk samples. Through an epigenome-wide association study we explored CpG sites associated with a breast cancer diagnosis in the prospectively collected milk samples from the breast that would develop cancer compared with women without a diagnosis of breast cancer using linear mixed effects models adjusted for history of breast biopsy, age, RefFreeCellMix cell estimates, time of delivery, array chip and subject as random effect. We identified 58 differentially methylated CpG sites associated with a subsequent breast cancer diagnosis (q-value &lt;0.05). Nearly all CpG sites associated with a breast cancer diagnosis were hypomethylated in cases compared with controls and were enriched for CpG islands. In addition, inferred repeat element methylation was lower in breast milk DNA from cases compared to controls, and cases exhibited increased estimated epigenetic mitotic tick rate as well as DNA methylation age compared with controls. Breast milk has utility as a biospecimen for prospective assessment of disease risk, for understanding the underlying molecular basis of breast cancer risk factors and improving primary and secondary prevention of breast cancer.


Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (21) ◽  
pp. 653-653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Qu ◽  
Andreas Lennartsson ◽  
Verena I. Gaidzik ◽  
Stefan Deneberg ◽  
Sofia Bengtzén ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 653 DNA methylation is involved in multiple biologic processes including normal cell differentiation and tumorigenesis. In AML, methylation patterns have been shown to differ significantly from normal hematopoietic cells. Most studies of DNA methylation in AML have previously focused on CpG islands within the promoter of genes, representing only a very small proportion of the DNA methylome. In this study, we performed genome-wide methylation analysis of 62 AML patients with CN-AML and CD34 positive cells from healthy controls by Illumina HumanMethylation450K Array covering 450.000 CpG sites in CpG islands as well as genomic regions far from CpG islands. Differentially methylated CpG sites (DMS) between CN-AML and normal hematopoietic cells were calculated and the most significant enrichment of DMS was found in regions more than 4kb from CpG Islands, in the so called open sea where hypomethylation was the dominant form of aberrant methylation. In contrast, CpG islands were not enriched for DMS and DMS in CpG islands were dominated by hypermethylation. DMS successively further away from CpG islands in CpG island shores (up to 2kb from CpG Island) and shelves (from 2kb to 4kb from Island) showed increasing degree of hypomethylation in AML cells. Among regions defined by their relation to gene structures, CpG dinucleotide located in theoretic enhancers were found to be the most enriched for DMS (Chi χ2<0.0001) with the majority of DMS showing decreased methylation compared to CD34 normal controls. To address the relation to gene expression, GEP (gene expression profiling) by microarray was carried out on 32 of the CN-AML patients. Totally, 339723 CpG sites covering 18879 genes were addressed on both platforms. CpG methylation in CpG islands showed the most pronounced anti-correlation (spearman ρ =-0.4145) with gene expression level, followed by CpG island shores (mean spearman rho for both sides' shore ρ=-0.2350). As transcription factors (TFs) have shown to be crucial for AML development, we especially studied differential methylation of an unbiased selection of 1638 TFs. The most enriched differential methylation between CN-AML and normal CD34 positive cells were found in TFs known to be involved in hematopoiesis and with Wilms tumor protein-1 (WT1), activator protein 1 (AP-1) and runt-related transcription factor 1 (RUNX1) being the most differentially methylated TFs. The differential methylation in WT 1 and RUNX1 was located in intragenic regions which were confirmed by pyro-sequencing. AML cases were characterized with respect to mutations in FLT3, NPM1, IDH1, IDH2 and DNMT3A. Correlation analysis between genome wide methylation patterns and mutational status showed statistically significant hypomethylation of CpG Island (p<0.0001) and to a lesser extent CpG island shores (p<0.001) and the presence of DNMT3A mutations. This links DNMT3A mutations for the first time to a hypomethylated phenotype. Further analyses correlating methylation patterns to other clinical data such as clinical outcome are ongoing. In conclusion, our study revealed that non-CpG island regions and in particular enhancers are the most aberrantly methylated genomic regions in AML and that WT 1 and RUNX1 are the most differentially methylated TFs. Furthermore, our data suggests a hypomethylated phenotype in DNMT3A mutated AML. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 5-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith M. Kerr ◽  
Janice S. Galler ◽  
Jeffrey A. Hagen ◽  
Peter W. Laird ◽  
Ite A. Laird-Offringa

Lung cancer, caused by smoking in ∼87% of cases, is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States and Western Europe. Adenocarcinoma is now the most common type of lung cancer in men and women in the United States, and the histological subtype most frequently seen in never-smokers and former smokers. The increasing frequency of adenocarcinoma, which occurs more peripherally in the lung, is thought to be at least partially related to modifications in cigarette manufacturing that have led to a change in the depth of smoke inhalation. The rising incidence of lung adenocarcinoma and its lethal nature underline the importance of understanding the development and progression of this disease. Alterations in DNA methylation are recognized as key epigenetic changes in cancer, contributing to chromosomal instability through global hypomethylation, and aberrant gene expression through alterations in the methylation levels at promoter CpG islands. The identification of sequential changes in DNA methylation during progression and metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma, and the elucidation of their interplay with genetic changes, will broaden our molecular understanding of this disease, providing insights that may be applicable to the development of targeted drugs, as well as powerful markers for early detection and patient classification.


Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1826
Author(s):  
Yifan Xu ◽  
Chia-Wen Tsai ◽  
Wen-Shin Chang ◽  
Yuyan Han ◽  
Maosheng Huang ◽  
...  

DNA methylation plays important roles in prostate cancer (PCa) development and progression. African American men have higher incidence and mortality rates of PCa than other racial groups in U.S. The goal of this study was to identify differentially methylated CpG sites and genes between clinically defined aggressive and nonaggressive PCa in African Americans. We performed genome-wide DNA methylation profiling in leukocyte DNA from 280 African American PCa patients using Illumina MethylationEPIC array that contains about 860K CpG sties. There was a slight increase of overall methylation level (mean β value) with the increasing Gleason scores (GS = 6, GS = 7, GS ≥ 8, P for trend = 0.002). There were 78 differentially methylated CpG sites with P < 10−4 and 9 sites with P < 10−5 in the trend test. We also found 77 differentially methylated regions/genes (DMRs), including 10 homeobox genes and six zinc finger protein genes. A gene ontology (GO) molecular pathway enrichment analysis of these 77 DMRs found that the main enriched pathway was DNA-binding transcriptional factor activity. A few representative DMRs include HOXD8, SOX11, ZNF-471, and ZNF-577. Our study suggests that leukocyte DNA methylation may be valuable biomarkers for aggressive PCa and the identified differentially methylated genes provide biological insights into the modulation of immune response by aggressive PCa.


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