DNA methylation profiling in human B cells reveals immune regulatory elements and epigenetic plasticity at Alu elements during B-cell activation.

ABSTRACT: Memory is a hallmark of adaptive immunity, wherein lymphocytes mount a superior response to a previously encountered antigen. It has been speculated that epigenetic alterations in memory lymphocytes contribute to their functional distinction from their naive counterparts. However, the nature and extent of epigenetic alterations in memory compartments remain poorly characterized. Here we profile the DNA methylome and the transcriptome of B-lymphocyte subsets representing stages of the humoral immune response before and after antigen exposure in vivo from multiple humans. A significant percentage of activation-induced losses of DNA methylation mapped to transcription factor binding sites. An additional class of demethylated loci mapped to Alu elements across the genome and accompanied repres

SUBMITTER: Lai AY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3847773 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature