Search results for "Epigenome"
showing 8 items of 28 documents
Alterations of a Cellular Cholesterol Metabolism Network Are a Molecular Feature of Obesity-Related Type 2 Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease
2015
Obesity is linked to type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular diseases; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. We aimed to identify obesity-associated molecular features that may contribute to obesity-related diseases. Using circulating monocytes from 1,264 Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) participants, we quantified the transcriptome and epigenome. We discovered that alterations in a network of coexpressed cholesterol metabolism genes are a signature feature of obesity and inflammatory stress. This network included 11 BMI-associated genes related to sterol uptake (↑LDLR, ↓MYLIP), synthesis (↑SCD, FADS1, HMGCS1, FDFT1, SQLE, CYP51A1, SC4MOL), and efflux (↓A…
DNA Methylation in Inflammatory Pathways Modifies the Association between BMI and Adult-Onset Non-Atopic Asthma
2019
A high body mass (BMI) index has repeatedly been associated with non-atopic asthma, but the biological mechanism linking obesity to asthma is still poorly understood. We aimed to test the hypothesis that inflammation and/or innate immunity plays a role in the obesity-asthma link. DNA methylome was measured in blood samples of 61 non-atopic participants with asthma and 146 non-atopic participants without asthma (non-smokers for at least 10 years) taking part in the Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung and Heart Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA) study. Modification by DNA methylation of the association of BMI or BMI change over 10 years with adult-onset asthma was examined at each CpG sit…
Impact of medical imaging on the epigenome – low-dose exposure in the course of computed tomography does not induce detectable changes of DNA-methyla…
2021
Computed tomography (CT) is a main contributor to artificial low-dose exposure. Understanding the biological effects induced by CT exposure and their dependency on the characteristics of photon spectra is essential for knowledge-driven risk assessment. In a previous gene expression study, we have identified upregulation of AEN, BAX, DDB2, EDA2R and FDXR after ex vivo exposure with single-energy CT and dual-energy CT (DECT). In this study, we focused on CT-induced changes of DNA methylation. This epigenetic modification of DNA is a central regulator of gene expression and instrumental in preserving genome integrity. Previous studies reported focal hypermethylation and global hypomethylation …
Residential greenness-related DNA methylation changes
2021
Abstract Background Residential greenness has been associated with health benefits, but its biological mechanism is largely unknown. Investigation of greenness-related DNA methylation profiles can contribute to mechanistic understanding of the health benefits of residential greenness. Objective To identify DNA methylation profiles associated with greenness in the immediate surroundings of the residence. Methods We analyzed genome-wide DNA methylation in 1938 blood samples (982 participants) from the Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung and Heart Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA). We estimated residential greenness based on normalized difference vegetation index at 30 × 30 m cell (green3…
Oxygen in the neonatal period: Oxidative stress, oxygen load and epigenetic changes
2020
Preterm infants frequently require positive pressure ventilation and oxygen supplementation in the first minutes after birth. It has been shown that the amount of oxygen provided during stabilization, the oxygen load, if excessive may cause hyperoxia, and oxidative damage to DNA. Epidemiologic studies have associated supplementation with pure oxygen in the first minutes after birth with childhood cancer. Recent studies have shown that the amount of oxygen supplemented to preterm infants after birth modifies the epigenome. Of note, the degree of DNA hyper-or hypomethylation correlates with the oxygen load provided upon stabilization. If these epigenetic modifications would persist, oxygen su…
Methylation status of VTRNA2-1/nc886 is stable across populations, monozygotic twin pairs and in majority of tissues.
2022
Aims & methods: The aim of this study was to characterize the methylation level of a polymorphically imprinted gene, VTRNA2-1/nc886, in human populations and somatic tissues.48 datasets, consisting of more than 30 tissues and >30,000 individuals, were used. Results: nc886 methylation status is associated with twin status and ethnic background, but the variation between populations is limited. Monozygotic twin pairs present concordant methylation, whereas similar to 30% of dizygotic twin pairs present discordant methylation in the nc886 locus. The methylation levels of nc886 are uniform across somatic tissues, except in cerebellum and skeletal muscle. Conclusion: The nc886 imprint may be est…
Endocrine disrupters: the new players able to affect the epigenome
2015
Epigenetics represents the way by which the environment is able to program the genome; there are three main levels of epigenetic control on genome: DNA methylation, post-translational histone modification and microRNA expression. The term Epigenetics has been widened by NIH to include “both heritable changes in gene activity and expression but also stable, long-term alterations in the transcriptional potential of a cell that are not necessarily heritable.” These changes might be produced mostly by the early life environment and might affect health influencing the susceptibility to develop diseases, from cancer to mental disorder, during the entire life span. The most studied environmental i…
Inflammatory cytokines shape a changing DNA methylome in monocytes mirroring disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis
2019
Objective: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease that mainly targets joints. Monocytes and macrophages are critical in RA pathogenesis and contribute to inflammatory lesions. These extremely plastic cells respond to extracellular signals which cause epigenomic changes that define their pathogenic phenotype. Here, we interrogated how DNA methylation alterations in RA monocytes are determined by extracellular signals. Methods: High-throughput DNA methylation analyses of patients with RA and controls and in vitro cytokine stimulation were used to investigate the underlying mechanisms behind DNA methylation alterations in RA as well as their relationship with clinic…