Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Background
Epigenetic signatures in the nasal epithelium, which is a primary interface with the environment and an accessible proxy for the bronchial epithelium, might provide insights into mechanisms of allergic disease.Objective
We aimed to identify and interpret methylation signatures in nasal epithelial brushes associated with rhinitis and asthma.Methods
Nasal epithelial brushes were obtained from 455 children at the 16-year follow-up of the Dutch Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Mite Allergy birth cohort study. Epigenome-wide association studies were performed on children with asthma, rhinitis, and asthma and/or rhinitis (AsRh) by using logistic regression, and the top results were replicated in 2 independent cohorts of African American and Puerto Rican children. Significant CpG sites were related to environmental exposures (pets, active and passive smoking, and molds) during secondary school and were correlated with gene expression by RNA-sequencing (n = 244).Results
The epigenome-wide association studies identified CpG sites significantly associated with rhinitis (n = 81) and AsRh (n = 75), but not with asthma. We significantly replicated 62 of 81 CpG sites with rhinitis and 60 of 75 with AsRh, as well as 1 CpG site with asthma. Methylation of cg03565274 was negatively associated with AsRh and positively associated with exposure to pets during secondary school. DNA methylation signals associated with AsRh were mainly driven by specific IgE-positive subjects. DNA methylation related to gene transcripts that were enriched for immune pathways and expressed in immune and epithelial cells. Nasal CpG sites performed well in predicting AsRh.Conclusions
We identified replicable DNA methylation profiles of asthma and rhinitis in nasal brushes. Exposure to pets may affect nasal epithelial methylation in relation to asthma and rhinitis.
SUBMITTER: Qi C
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7282965 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Qi Cancan C Jiang Yale Y Yang Ivana V IV Forno Erick E Wang Ting T Vonk Judith M JM Gehring Ulrike U Smit Henriëtte A HA Milanzi Edith B EB Carpaij Orestes A OA Berg Marijn M Hesse Laura L Brouwer Sharon S Cardwell Jonathan J Vermeulen Cornelis J CJ Acosta-Pérez Edna E Canino Glorisa G Boutaoui Nadia N van den Berge Maarten M Teichmann Sarah A SA Nawijn Martijn C MC Chen Wei W Celedón Juan C JC Xu Cheng-Jian CJ Koppelman Gerard H GH
The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology 20200114 6
<h4>Background</h4>Epigenetic signatures in the nasal epithelium, which is a primary interface with the environment and an accessible proxy for the bronchial epithelium, might provide insights into mechanisms of allergic disease.<h4>Objective</h4>We aimed to identify and interpret methylation signatures in nasal epithelial brushes associated with rhinitis and asthma.<h4>Methods</h4>Nasal epithelial brushes were obtained from 455 children at the 16-year follow-up of the Dutch Prevention and Incid ...[more]