Project description:Genome wide DNA methylation profiling study of PBMC from 71 unique primary patient blood samples. The Illumina Human Methylation 450k array was used. 29 challenge proven food allergy, 29 sensitized but oral tolerant, 13 non food allergics Mixture of food allergy phenotypes (egg allergic (15), peanut allergic (14)), food sensitization phenotypes (egg sensitized (14), peanut sensitized (15)). 4 samples had technical replicate hybridzations. Bisulphite converted DNA from the 75 samples were hybridised to the Illumina Infinium 450k Human Methylation Beadchip v1.2. Technical replicates were combined during processing, resulting in normalized Beta values for 71 unique primary patient blood samples.
Project description:Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a lung disease in premature infants characterized by impaired pulmonary development which persists into later life. While advances in neonatal care have improved survival rates of premature infants, cases of BPD haves been increased. Therapeutic options are limited for prevention and treatment. This study was designed to explore the relationship between gestational age (GA), birth weight and estímate blood cell-type composition in premature infants and to elucidate early epigenetic biomarkers associated with BPD. Peripheral blood DNA (at days 14 and 28) from preterm neonates that went on to develop BPD (n = 14) or not (nonBPD, n = 93) was applied to Illumina EPIC methylation arrays. Using DNA methylation analysis of cord blood DNA, we investigated association of GA and birth weight with the estimated distribution of cord blood cell types, particularly the nucleated red blood cell (NRBC) in a pilot-size cohort of preterm infants with or without BPD. We describe changes in methylation-based estimates of blood cell-type composition in relation to GA and birth weight. After adjusting for covariates (GA, birth weight, cell type proportions, etc.) we identify differentially methylated CpGs and genes associated with BPD at different time points.
Project description:Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a lung disease in premature infants characterized by impaired pulmonary development which persists into later life. While advances in neonatal care have improved survival rates of premature infants, cases of BPD haves been increased. Therapeutic options are limited for prevention and treatment. This study was designed to explore the relationship between gestational age (GA), birth weight and estímate blood cell-type composition in premature infants and to elucidate early epigenetic biomarkers associated with BPD. Cord blood DNA from preterm neonates that went on to develop BPD (n = 14) or not (nonBPD, n = 93) was applied to Illumina 450K methylation arrays. Using DNA methylation analysis of cord blood DNA, we investigated association of GA and birth weight with the estimated distribution of cord blood cell types, particularly the nucleated red blood cell (NRBC) in a pilot-size cohort of preterm infants with or without BPD. We describe changes in methylation-based estimates of blood cell-type composition in relation to GA and birth weight. After adjusting for covariates (GA, birth weight, cell type proportions, etc.) we identify differentially methylated CpGs and genes associated with BPD.
Project description:Staphylococcus (S.) epidermidis is one of the most common nosocomial coagulase-negative staphylococci infections in preterm infants. The clinical signs of infection are often unspecific and identification of novel markers to complement the current diagnosis is needed. In this study, we investigated proteomic alterations in the neonatal mouse brain following S. epidermidis infection and in the blood in preterm infants. We identified lipocalin 2 (LCN2) as a crucial protein associated with cerebrovascular changes and astrocyte reactivity in mice. While astrocytes were activated in S. epidermidis infected mice, LCN2 protein expression in the brain was associated with endothelial cells but not astrocyte reactivity. By combining weighted gene co-expression analysis and differential expression approaches, we further identified that LCN2 protein was linked to blood C-reactive protein levels in a cohort of preterm infants born <28 weeks of gestation. Blood LCN2 levels were associated with similar alterations of cytokines and chemokines in both infected mice and human preterm infants with increased levels of CRP. The present experimental and clinical study indicates that LCN2 might be a suitable additional marker of preterm infection/inflammation associated with cerebrovascular changes and neuroinflammation.
Project description:Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a severe gut disorder in preterm infants, is difficult to predict due to poor specificity and sensitivity of clinical signs and biomarkers. Using preterm piglets as a model, we hypothesized that early development of NEC affects blood gene expression, potentially related to early systemic immune responses. In this animal model, variable severity of gut NEC lesions were detected in 5d-old piglets with limited clinical signs. NEC (n=20) and control piglets (CON, n=19) were analyzed for whole blood transcriptome, revealing 344 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between NEC and CON piglets. Co-expression network analyses and qPCR suggested AOAH, FKBP5, PAK2 as three NEC-specific genes associated with severe gut lesions. These results suggest that whole blood gene expressions are affected in preterm piglets when clinical symptoms of NEC are minimal. Blood transcriptome may be a novel tool to identify early biomarkers of NEC.
Project description:DNA methylation likely plays a role in the regulation of human stress reactivity. In a genome-wide analysis of blood DNA methylation in 85 healthy individuals a locus in the Kit ligand (KITLG) gene (cg27512205) had the strongest association with cortisol stress reactivity (p=5.8x10-6). Replication was obtained in two independent samples, one using blood (N=45, p=0.001) and the other using buccal cells (N=255,p=0.004). KITLG methylation strongly mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and cortisol stress reactivity (32% mediation). Its genomic location (CpG island shore within an H3K27ac enhancer mark) provide further evidence that KITLG methylation is functionally relevant for the programming of stress reactivity. Our results extend preclinical evidence for epigenetic regulation of stress reactivity to humans and provide leads to enhance our understanding of the neurobiological pathways underlying stress vulnerability. Bisulphite converted DNA from whole blood of 85 healthy controls exposed to psychosocial stress task (TSST-G) was hybridised to the Illumina Infinium 450k Human Methylation Beadchip The DOI for this paper will be 10.1038/NCOMMS10967.
Project description:Genome wide DNA methylation profiling of human samples from dried neonatal blood spots taken at birth from a cohort of pregnant people and their infants in Michigan. The Illumina MethylationEPIC Beadchip array was used to obtain DNA methylation profiles across over 850,000 CpGs in dried neonatal blood spot samples. Samples were collected from 166 infants at birth.
Project description:DNA methylation likely plays a role in the regulation of human stress reactivity. In a genome-wide analysis of blood DNA methylation in 85 healthy individuals a locus in the Kit ligand (KITLG) gene (cg27512205) had the strongest association with cortisol stress reactivity (p=5.8x10-6). Replication was obtained in two independent samples, one using blood (N=45, p=0.001) and the other using buccal cells (N=255,p=0.004). KITLG methylation strongly mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and cortisol stress reactivity (32% mediation). Its genomic location (CpG island shore within an H3K27ac enhancer mark) provide further evidence that KITLG methylation is functionally relevant for the programming of stress reactivity. Our results extend preclinical evidence for epigenetic regulation of stress reactivity to humans and provide leads to enhance our understanding of the neurobiological pathways underlying stress vulnerability.