Dynamic chromatin architecture identifies new autoimmune-associated enhancers for IL2 and novel genes regulating CD4+ T cell activation.

ABSTRACT: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified hundreds of genetic signals associated with autoimmune disease. The majority of these signals are located in non-coding regions and likely impact cis-regulatory elements (cRE). Because cRE function is dynamic across cell types and states, profiling the epigenetic status of cRE across physiological processes is necessary to characterize the molecular mechanisms by which autoimmune variants contribute to disease risk. We localized risk variants from 15 autoimmune GWAS to cRE active during TCR-CD28 co-stimulation of naïve human CD4+ T cells. To characterize how dynamic changes in gene expression correlate with cRE activity, we measured transcript levels, chromatin accessibility, and promoter-cRE contacts across three phases of naiv

SUBMITTER: Pahl MC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11418197 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature