GSE100386 Blood and Nasal Epigenetics Correlate to Allergic Rhinitis Symptom Development in the Environmental Exposure Unit

Contributors : Michelle L North ; Meaghan J Jones ; Julia L MacIsaac ; Alexander M Morin ; Lisa M Steacy ; Alexander Gregor ; Michael S Kobor ; Anne K EllisSeries Type : Methylation profiling by genome tiling arrayOrganism : Homo sapiensEpigenetic alterations may represent new therapeutic targets and/or biomarkers of allergic rhinitis (AR). Our aim was to examine genome-wide epigenetic changes induced by controlled pollen exposure in the Environmental Exposure Unit (EEU). 38 AR-sufferers and 8 non-allergic controls were exposed to grass pollen for 3h on two consecutive days. We interrogated DNA methylation at baseline and 3h in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) using the Infinium Methylation 450K array. We corrected for demographics, cell composition, and multiple testing (Benjamini-Hochberg), and verified hits using bisulfite PCR-pyrosequencing and qPCR. To extend these findings to a clinically relevant tissue, we investigated DNA methylation and gene expression of mucin 4 (MUC4), in nasal brushings from a separate validation cohort exposed to birch pollen. In PBMCs of allergic rhinitis participants, 42 sites showed significant DNA methylation changes of 2% or greater. DNA methylation changes in tryptase gamma 1 (TPSG1), schlafen 12 (SLFN12) and MUC4 in response to exposure were validated by pyrosequencing. SLFN12 DNA methylation significantly correlated with symptoms (p
Source: GEO: Gene Expression Omnibus - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Tags: Methylation profiling by genome tiling array Homo sapiens Source Type: research