Heike Eichenauer, Susanne Fischer, Elena Gardini, Simon Onsongo, Ulrike Ehlert
{"title":"Effects of improved on-farm crop storage on DNA methylation of mothers and their infants: evidence from a randomized controlled trial in Kenya.","authors":"Heike Eichenauer, Susanne Fischer, Elena Gardini, Simon Onsongo, Ulrike Ehlert","doi":"10.1186/s13148-024-01693-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13148-024-01693-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Stress during pregnancy can lead to adverse maternal and infant health outcomes through epigenetic changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Among farmers in low-income countries, one important stressor is food insecurity, which can be reduced using hermetic storage bags. This study aimed to determine, for the first time, whether a hermetic storage bag intervention during pregnancy positively affects maternal and infant DNA methylation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis-related genes FKBP5 and NR3C1. We further analyzed whether anthropometrics, stress, and mental health were associated with DNA methylation.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study was part of a larger matched-pair randomized controlled trial focusing on the impact of improved on-farm storage on food security, poverty, and net income of smallholder farming households. A total of N = 149 mothers were recruited by telephone and invited to attend a study appointment at health facilities in Kakamega County, Western Kenya, with their infants in April or May 2021. During the appointment, anthropometric measurements were taken, questionnaires on stress and mental health were administered, and saliva samples were collected. Logistic and multiple linear regression were used to examine the effect of the intervention and related measures on DNA methylation.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Mothers in the intervention group showed higher mean NR3C1 methylation levels than those in the control group, corrected for multiple testing. Maternal postpartum body mass index was positively associated with infant NR3C1 CpG3 DNA methylation. The more stressful life events a mother had experienced in the previous 12 months (including during pregnancy), the lower her FKBP5 CpG3 methylation levels.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Food insecurity and stressful life events during pregnancy seem to exert significant effects on maternal DNA methylation. While these stressors did not appear to impact infant DNA methylation in the present study, maternal postpartum body mass index was significantly related to infant methylation. These findings suggest that while infants may be protected from excessive maternal glucocorticoids by placental barrier activity, maternal metabolic status is still reflected in their epigenetic make-up. Trial registration This study was part of a larger matched-pair randomized controlled trial on the impact of improved on-farm crop storage on welfare, nutrition, and human health. Registration can be found in the American Economic Association (AEA) RCT Registry, RCT ID: AEARCTR-0005845.</p>","PeriodicalId":10366,"journal":{"name":"Clinical Epigenetics","volume":"16 1","pages":"90"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11232227/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141558266","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Flavia Lima Costa Faldoni, Daniela Bizinelli, Cristiano Pádua Souza, Iara Viana Vidigal Santana, Márcia Maria Chiquitelli Marques, Claudia Aparecida Rainho, Fabio Albuquerque Marchi, Silvia Regina Rogatto
{"title":"DNA methylation profile of inflammatory breast cancer and its impact on prognosis and outcome.","authors":"Flavia Lima Costa Faldoni, Daniela Bizinelli, Cristiano Pádua Souza, Iara Viana Vidigal Santana, Márcia Maria Chiquitelli Marques, Claudia Aparecida Rainho, Fabio Albuquerque Marchi, Silvia Regina Rogatto","doi":"10.1186/s13148-024-01695-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13148-024-01695-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare disease characterized by rapid progression, early metastasis, and a high mortality rate.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Genome-wide DNA methylation analysis (EPIC BeadChip platform, Illumina) and somatic gene variants (105 cancer-related genes) were performed in 24 IBCs selected from a cohort of 140 cases.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We identified 46,908 DMPs (differentially methylated positions) (66% hypomethylated); CpG islands were predominantly hypermethylated (39.9%). Unsupervised clustering analysis revealed three clusters of DMPs characterized by an enrichment of specific gene mutations and hormone receptor status. The comparison among DNA methylation findings and external datasets (TCGA-BRCA stages III-IV) resulted in 385 shared DMPs mapped in 333 genes (264 hypermethylated). 151 DMPs were associated with 110 genes previously detected as differentially expressed in IBC (GSE45581), and 68 DMPs were negatively correlated with gene expression. We also identified 4369 DMRs (differentially methylated regions) mapped on known genes (2392 hypomethylated). BCAT1, CXCL12, and TBX15 loci were selected and evaluated by bisulfite pyrosequencing in 31 IBC samples. BCAT1 and TBX15 had higher methylation levels in triple-negative compared to non-triple-negative, while CXCL12 had lower methylation levels in triple-negative than non-triple-negative IBC cases. TBX15 methylation level was associated with obesity.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our findings revealed a heterogeneous DNA methylation profile with potentially functional DMPs and DMRs. The DNA methylation data provided valuable insights for prognostic stratification and therapy selection to improve patient outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":10366,"journal":{"name":"Clinical Epigenetics","volume":"16 1","pages":"89"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11227707/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141544576","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lotte Cornelli, Ruben Van Paemel, Maísa R Ferro Dos Santos, Sofie Roelandt, Leen Willems, Jelle Vandersteene, Edward Baert, Liselot M Mus, Nadine Van Roy, Bram De Wilde, Katleen De Preter
{"title":"Diagnosis of pediatric central nervous system tumors using methylation profiling of cfDNA from cerebrospinal fluid.","authors":"Lotte Cornelli, Ruben Van Paemel, Maísa R Ferro Dos Santos, Sofie Roelandt, Leen Willems, Jelle Vandersteene, Edward Baert, Liselot M Mus, Nadine Van Roy, Bram De Wilde, Katleen De Preter","doi":"10.1186/s13148-024-01696-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13148-024-01696-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Pediatric central nervous system tumors remain challenging to diagnose. Imaging approaches do not provide sufficient detail to discriminate between different tumor types, while the histopathological examination of tumor tissue shows high inter-observer variability. Recent studies have demonstrated the accurate classification of central nervous system tumors based on the DNA methylation profile of a tumor biopsy. However, a brain biopsy holds significant risk of bleeding and damaging the surrounding tissues. Liquid biopsy approaches analyzing circulating tumor DNA show high potential as an alternative and less invasive tool to study the DNA methylation pattern of tumors. Here, we explore the potential of classifying pediatric brain tumors based on methylation profiling of the circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). For this proof-of-concept study, we collected cerebrospinal fluid samples from 19 pediatric brain cancer patients via a ventricular drain placed for reasons of increased intracranial pressure. Analyses on the cfDNA showed high variability of cfDNA quantities across patients ranging from levels below the limit of quantification to 40 ng cfDNA per milliliter of CSF. Classification based on methylation profiling of cfDNA from CSF was correct for 7 out of 20 samples in our cohort. Accurate results were mostly observed in samples of high quality, more specifically those with limited high molecular weight DNA contamination. Interestingly, we show that centrifugation of the CSF prior to processing increases the fraction of fragmented cfDNA to high molecular weight DNA. In addition, classification was mostly correct for samples with high tumoral cfDNA fraction as estimated by computational deconvolution (> 40%). In summary, analysis of cfDNA in the CSF shows potential as a tool for diagnosing pediatric nervous system tumors especially in patients with high levels of tumoral cfDNA in the CSF. Further optimization of the collection procedure, experimental workflow and bioinformatic approach is required to also allow classification for patients with low tumoral fractions in the CSF.</p>","PeriodicalId":10366,"journal":{"name":"Clinical Epigenetics","volume":"16 1","pages":"87"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11225235/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141537611","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Vibha Patil, Patricia Perez-Carpena, Jose A Lopez-Escamez
{"title":"A systematic review on the contribution of DNA methylation to hearing loss.","authors":"Vibha Patil, Patricia Perez-Carpena, Jose A Lopez-Escamez","doi":"10.1186/s13148-024-01697-9","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13148-024-01697-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>DNA methylation may have a regulatory role in monogenic sensorineural hearing loss and complex, polygenic phenotypic forms of hearing loss, including age-related hearing impairment or Meniere disease. The purpose of this systematic review is to critically assess the evidence supporting a functional role of DNA methylation in phenotypes associated with hearing loss.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The search strategy yielded a total of 661 articles. After quality assessment, 25 records were selected (12 human DNA methylation studies, 5 experimental animal studies and 8 studies reporting mutations in the DNMT1 gene). Although some methylation studies reported significant differences in CpG methylation in diverse gene promoters associated with complex hearing loss phenotypes (ARHI, otosclerosis, MD), only one study included a replication cohort that supported a regulatory role for CpG methylation in the genes TCF25 and POLE in ARHI. Conversely, several studies have independently confirmed pathogenic mutations within exon 21 of the DNMT1 gene, which encodes the DNA (cytosine-5)-methyltransferase 1 enzyme. This methylation enzyme is strongly associated with a rare disease defined by autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxia, deafness and narcolepsy (ADCA-DN). Of note, rare variants in DNMT1 and DNMT3A genes have also been reported in noise-induced hearing loss.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Evidence supporting a functional role for DNA methylation in hearing loss is limited to few genes in complex disorders such as ARHI. Mutations in the DNMT1 gene are associated with ADCA-DN, suggesting the CpG methylation in hearing loss genes deserves further attention in hearing research.</p>","PeriodicalId":10366,"journal":{"name":"Clinical Epigenetics","volume":"16 1","pages":"88"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11227199/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141537610","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The chromatin accessibility and transcriptomic landscape of the aging mice cochlea and the identification of potential functional super-enhancers in age-related hearing loss.","authors":"Chanyuan Zhang, Ting Yang, Xiaoqin Luo, Xiaoqing Zhou, Menglong Feng, Wei Yuan","doi":"10.1186/s13148-024-01702-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13148-024-01702-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Presbycusis, also referred to as age-related hearing loss (ARHL), is a condition that results from the cumulative effects of aging on an individual's auditory capabilities. Given the limited understanding of epigenetic mechanisms in ARHL, our research focuses on alterations in chromatin-accessible regions.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We employed assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with high-throughput sequencing (ATAC-seq) in conjunction with unique identifier (UID) mRNA-seq between young and aging cochleae, and conducted integrated analysis as well as motif/TF-gene prediction. Additionally, the essential role of super-enhancers (SEs) in the development of ARHL was identified by comparative analysis to previous research. Meanwhile, an ARHL mouse model and an aging mimic hair cell (HC) model were established with a comprehensive identification of senescence phenotypes to access the role of SEs in ARHL progression.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The control cochlear tissue exhibited greater chromatin accessibility than cochlear tissue affected by ARHL. Furthermore, the levels of histone 3 lysine 27 acetylation were significantly depressed in both aging cochlea and aging mimic HEI-OC1 cells, highlighting the essential role of SEs in the development of ARHL. The potential senescence-associated super-enhancers (SASEs) of ARHL were identified, most of which exhibited decreased chromatin accessibility. The majority of genes related to the SASEs showed obvious decreases in mRNA expression level in aging HCs and was noticeably altered following treatment with JQ1 (a commonly used SE inhibitor).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The chromatin accessibility in control cochlear tissue was higher than that in cochlear tissue affected by ARHL. Potential SEs involved in ARHL were identified, which might provide a basis for future therapeutics targeting SASEs related to ARHL.</p>","PeriodicalId":10366,"journal":{"name":"Clinical Epigenetics","volume":"16 1","pages":"86"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11225416/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141533780","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
David Martino, Nikki Schultz, Ravinder Kaur, Simon D van Haren, Nina Kresoje, Annmarie Hoch, Joann Diray-Arce, Jessica Lasky Su, Ofer Levy, Michael Pichichero
{"title":"Respiratory infection- and asthma-prone, low vaccine responder children demonstrate distinct mononuclear cell DNA methylation pathways.","authors":"David Martino, Nikki Schultz, Ravinder Kaur, Simon D van Haren, Nina Kresoje, Annmarie Hoch, Joann Diray-Arce, Jessica Lasky Su, Ofer Levy, Michael Pichichero","doi":"10.1186/s13148-024-01703-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13148-024-01703-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Infants with frequent viral and bacterial respiratory infections exhibit compromised immunity to routine immunizations. They are also more likely to develop chronic respiratory diseases in later childhood. This study investigated the feasibility of epigenetic profiling to reveal endotype-specific molecular pathways with potential for early identification and immuno-modulation. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from respiratory infection allergy/asthma-prone (IAP) infants and non-infection allergy/asthma prone (NIAP) were retrospectively selected for genome-wide DNA methylation and single nucleotide polymorphism analysis. The IAP infants were enriched for the low vaccine responsiveness (LVR) phenotype (Fisher's exact p-value = 0.02).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>An endotype signature of 813 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) comprising 238 lead CpG associations (FDR < 0.05) emerged, implicating pathways related to asthma, mucin production, antigen presentation and inflammasome activation. Allelic variation explained only a minor portion of this signature. Stimulation of mononuclear cells with monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL), a TLR agonist, partially reversed this signature at a subset of CpGs, suggesting the potential for epigenetic remodeling.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This proof-of-concept study establishes a foundation for precision endotyping of IAP children and highlights the potential for immune modulation strategies using adjuvants for future investigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":10366,"journal":{"name":"Clinical Epigenetics","volume":"16 1","pages":"85"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11223352/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141497301","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Katie Mckinnon, Eleanor L S Conole, Kadi Vaher, Robert F Hillary, Danni A Gadd, Justyna Binkowska, Gemma Sullivan, Anna J Stevenson, Amy Corrigan, Lee Murphy, Heather C Whalley, Hilary Richardson, Riccardo E Marioni, Simon R Cox, James P Boardman
{"title":"Epigenetic scores derived in saliva are associated with gestational age at birth.","authors":"Katie Mckinnon, Eleanor L S Conole, Kadi Vaher, Robert F Hillary, Danni A Gadd, Justyna Binkowska, Gemma Sullivan, Anna J Stevenson, Amy Corrigan, Lee Murphy, Heather C Whalley, Hilary Richardson, Riccardo E Marioni, Simon R Cox, James P Boardman","doi":"10.1186/s13148-024-01701-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13148-024-01701-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Epigenetic scores (EpiScores), reflecting DNA methylation (DNAm)-based surrogates for complex traits, have been developed for multiple circulating proteins. EpiScores for pro-inflammatory proteins, such as C-reactive protein (DNAm CRP), are associated with brain health and cognition in adults and with inflammatory comorbidities of preterm birth in neonates. Social disadvantage can become embedded in child development through inflammation, and deprivation is overrepresented in preterm infants. We tested the hypotheses that preterm birth and socioeconomic status (SES) are associated with alterations in a set of EpiScores enriched for inflammation-associated proteins.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In total, 104 protein EpiScores were derived from saliva samples of 332 neonates born at gestational age (GA) 22.14 to 42.14 weeks. Saliva sampling was between 36.57 and 47.14 weeks. Forty-three (41%) EpiScores were associated with low GA at birth (standardised estimates |0.14 to 0.88|, Bonferroni-adjusted p-value < 8.3 × 10<sup>-3</sup>). These included EpiScores for chemokines, growth factors, proteins involved in neurogenesis and vascular development, cell membrane proteins and receptors, and other immune proteins. Three EpiScores were associated with SES, or the interaction between birth GA and SES: afamin, intercellular adhesion molecule 5, and hepatocyte growth factor-like protein (standardised estimates |0.06 to 0.13|, Bonferroni-adjusted p-value < 8.3 × 10<sup>-3</sup>). In a preterm subgroup (n = 217, median [range] GA 29.29 weeks [22.14 to 33.0 weeks]), SES-EpiScore associations did not remain statistically significant after adjustment for sepsis, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, necrotising enterocolitis, and histological chorioamnionitis.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Low birth GA is substantially associated with a set of EpiScores. The set was enriched for inflammatory proteins, providing new insights into immune dysregulation in preterm infants. SES had fewer associations with EpiScores; these tended to have small effect sizes and were not statistically significant after adjusting for inflammatory comorbidities. This suggests that inflammation is unlikely to be the primary axis through which SES becomes embedded in the development of preterm infants in the neonatal period.</p>","PeriodicalId":10366,"journal":{"name":"Clinical Epigenetics","volume":"16 1","pages":"84"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11218140/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141476072","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jorge Enrique Tovar Perez, Shilan Zhang, William Hodgeman, Sabeeta Kapoor, Praveen Rajendran, Koichi S Kobayashi, Roderick H Dashwood
{"title":"Epigenetic regulation of major histocompatibility complexes in gastrointestinal malignancies and the potential for clinical interception.","authors":"Jorge Enrique Tovar Perez, Shilan Zhang, William Hodgeman, Sabeeta Kapoor, Praveen Rajendran, Koichi S Kobayashi, Roderick H Dashwood","doi":"10.1186/s13148-024-01698-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13148-024-01698-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Gastrointestinal malignancies encompass a diverse group of cancers that pose significant challenges to global health. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a pivotal role in immune surveillance, orchestrating the recognition and elimination of tumor cells by the immune system. However, the intricate regulation of MHC gene expression is susceptible to dynamic epigenetic modification, which can influence functionality and pathological outcomes.</p><p><strong>Main body: </strong>By understanding the epigenetic alterations that drive MHC downregulation, insights are gained into the molecular mechanisms underlying immune escape, tumor progression, and immunotherapy resistance. This systematic review examines the current literature on epigenetic mechanisms that contribute to MHC deregulation in esophageal, gastric, pancreatic, hepatic and colorectal malignancies. Potential clinical implications are discussed of targeting aberrant epigenetic modifications to restore MHC expression and 0 the effectiveness of immunotherapeutic interventions.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The integration of epigenetic-targeted therapies with immunotherapies holds great potential for improving clinical outcomes in patients with gastrointestinal malignancies and represents a compelling avenue for future research and therapeutic development.</p>","PeriodicalId":10366,"journal":{"name":"Clinical Epigenetics","volume":"16 1","pages":"83"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11197381/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141445772","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Stefania Palumbo, Domenico Palumbo, Grazia Cirillo, Giorgio Giurato, Francesca Aiello, Emanuele Miraglia Del Giudice, Anna Grandone
{"title":"Methylome analysis in girls with idiopathic central precocious puberty.","authors":"Stefania Palumbo, Domenico Palumbo, Grazia Cirillo, Giorgio Giurato, Francesca Aiello, Emanuele Miraglia Del Giudice, Anna Grandone","doi":"10.1186/s13148-024-01683-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13148-024-01683-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Genetic and environmental factors are implicated in many developmental processes. Recent evidence, however, has suggested that epigenetic changes may also influence the onset of puberty or the susceptibility to a wide range of diseases later in life. The present study aims to investigate changes in genomic DNA methylation profiles associated with pubertal onset analyzing human peripheral blood leukocytes from three different groups of subjects: 19 girls with central precocious puberty (CPP), 14 healthy prepubertal girls matched by age and 13 healthy pubertal girls matched by pubertal stage. For this purpose, the comparisons were performed between pre- and pubertal controls to identify changes in normal pubertal transition and CPP versus pre- and pubertal controls.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Analysis of methylation changes associated with normal pubertal transition identified 1006 differentially methylated CpG sites, 86% of them were found to be hypermethylated in prepubertal controls. Some of these CpG sites reside in genes associated with the age of menarche or transcription factors involved in the process of pubertal development. Analysis of methylome profiles in CPP patients showed 65% and 55% hypomethylated CpG sites compared with prepubertal and pubertal controls, respectively. In addition, interestingly, our results revealed the presence of 43 differentially methylated genes coding for zinc finger (ZNF) proteins. Gene ontology and IPA analysis performed in the three groups studied revealed significant enrichment of them in some pathways related to neuronal communication (semaphorin and gustation pathways), estrogens action, some cancers (particularly breast and ovarian) or metabolism (particularly sirtuin).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The different methylation profiles of girls with normal and precocious puberty indicate that regulation of the pubertal process in humans is associated with specific epigenetic changes. Differentially methylated genes include ZNF genes that may play a role in developmental control. In addition, our data highlight changes in the methylation status of genes involved in signaling pathways that determine the migration and function of GnRH neurons and the onset of metabolic and neoplastic diseases that may be associated with CPP in later life.</p>","PeriodicalId":10366,"journal":{"name":"Clinical Epigenetics","volume":"16 1","pages":"82"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11193236/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141440263","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Estrogen-mediated DNMT1 and DNMT3A recruitment by EZH2 silences miR-570-3p that contributes to papillary thyroid malignancy through DPP4.","authors":"Xiarong Hu, Qingyao Ye, HuanQuan Lu, Zhiming Wu, Siyuan Chen, Ruinian Zheng","doi":"10.1186/s13148-024-01685-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13148-024-01685-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is a common endocrine malignancy. Studies have indicated that estrogen can regulate the expression of miRNAs in numerous malignancies. MiR-570-3p has been shown to have a regulatory function in various cancers. However, studies of the regulatory function of miR-570-3p and a direct link between estrogen (especially estradiol E2) and miR-570-3p in PTC have not been done.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Expression of miR-570-3p and its downstream target DPP4 in PTC tissues and cells was predicted using bioinformatics and validated by qRT-PCR and western blot assays. We then performed a series of gain-and-loss experiments to assess the functional significance of miR-570-3p/DPP4 axis in PTC progression in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, the methylation of the miR-570-3p promoter region was examined via bioinformatics analysis and MSP. Finally, the effects of E2 on PTC progression and the correlation between DNMT1/DNMT3A and EZH2 were predicted by bioinformatic tools and proved by luciferase reporter, ChIP, and co-IP assays.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In PTC tumor tissues and cell lines, there was a lower expression level and a higher methylation level of miR-570-3p compared to normal tissues and cell lines. DPP4 was identified as the downstream target of miR-570-3p. Overexpression of miR-570-3p reduced the proliferative, migratory, and invasive capabilities, and promoted apoptosis, while overexpression of DPP4 reversed these effects in PTC cells. It was also discovered that DNMT1 and DNMT3A increased the CpG methylation level of the miR-570-3p promoter in an EZH2-dependent manner, which led to decreased expression of miR-570-3p. Furthermore, we observed that estrogen (E2) enhanced the methylation of miR-570-3p and suppressed its expression levels, resulting in augmented tumor growth in vivo in PTC.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Estrogen regulates the EZH2/DNMTs/miR-570-3p/DPP4 signaling pathway to promote PTC progression.</p>","PeriodicalId":10366,"journal":{"name":"Clinical Epigenetics","volume":"16 1","pages":"81"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11184720/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141418191","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}