A longitudinal and transancestral analysis of DNA methylation patterns and disease activity in lupus patients.

ABSTRACT: Epigenetic dysregulation is implicated in the pathogenesis of lupus. We performed a longitudinal analysis to assess changes in DNA methylation in lupus neutrophils over 4 years of follow-up and across disease activity levels using 229 patient samples. We demonstrate that DNA methylation profiles in lupus are partly determined by ancestry-associated genetic variations and are highly stable over time. DNA methylation levels in 2 CpG sites correlated significantly with changes in lupus disease activity. Progressive demethylation in SNX18 was observed with increasing disease activity in African American patients. Importantly, demethylation of a CpG site located within GALNT18 was associated with the development of active lupus nephritis. Differentially methylated genes between African American

SUBMITTER: Coit P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7710270 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature