High-resolution transcriptomic and epigenetic profiling identifies novel regulators of COPD.

ABSTRACT: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are still waiting for curative treatments. Considering its environmental cause, we hypothesized that COPD will be associated with altered epigenetic signaling in lung cells. We generated genome-wide DNA methylation maps at single CpG resolution of primary human lung fibroblasts (HLFs) across COPD stages. We show that the epigenetic landscape is changed early in COPD, with DNA methylation changes occurring predominantly in regulatory regions. RNA sequencing of matched fibroblasts demonstrated dysregulation of genes involved in proliferation, DNA repair, and extracellular matrix organization. Data integration identified 110 candidate regulators of disease phenotypes that were linked to fibroblast repair processes using phenotypic scr

SUBMITTER: Schwartz U 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10267701 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature