Blood lipids influence DNA methylation in circulating cells.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cells can be primed by external stimuli to obtain a long-term epigenetic memory. We hypothesize that long-term exposure to elevated blood lipids can prime circulating immune cells through changes in DNA methylation, a process that may contribute to the development of atherosclerosis. To interrogate the causal relationship between triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels and genome-wide DNA methylation while excluding confounding and pleiotropy, we perform a stepwise Mendelian randomization analysis in whole blood of 3296 individuals.

Results

This analysis shows that differential methylation is the consequence of inter-individual variation in blood lipid levels and not vice versa. Specifically, w

SUBMITTER: Dekkers KF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4922056 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature