Dataset Information

Saliva cell type DNA methylation reference panel for epidemiological studies in children.

ABSTRACT: Saliva is a widely used biological sample, especially in pediatric research, containing a heterogenous mixture of immune and epithelial cells. Associations of exposure or disease with saliva DNA methylation can be influenced by cell-type proportions. Here, we developed a saliva cell-type DNA methylation reference panel to estimate interindividual cell-type heterogeneity in whole saliva studies. Saliva was collected from 22 children (7-16 years) and sorted into immune and epithelial cells, using size exclusion filtration and magnetic bead sorting. DNA methylation was measured using the Illumina MethylationEPIC BeadChip. We assessed cell-type differences in DNA methylation profiles and tested for enriched biological pathways. Immune and epithelial cells differed at 181,577 (22.8%) DNA methylation sites (t-test p < 6.28 × 10^-8). Immune cell hypomethylated sites are mapped to genes enriched for immune pathways (p < 3.2 × 10^-5). Epithelial cell hypomethylated sites were enriched for cornification (p = 5.2 × 10^-4), a key process for hard palette formation. Saliva immune and epithelial cells have distinct DNA methylation profiles which can drive whole-saliva DNA methylation measures. A primary saliva DNA methylation reference panel, easily implemented with an R package, will allow estimates of cell proportions from whole saliva samples and improve epigenetic epidemiology studies by accounting for measurement heterogeneity by cell-type proportions.

SUBMITTER: Middleton LYM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8865319 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan-Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Saliva cell type DNA methylation reference panel for epidemiological studies in children.

Middleton Lauren Y M LYM Dou John J Fisher Jonah J Heiss Jonathan A JA Nguyen Vy K VK Just Allan C AC Faul Jessica J Ware Erin B EB Mitchell Colter C Colacino Justin A JA M Bakulski Kelly K

Epigenetics 20210222 2

Saliva is a widely used biological sample, especially in pediatric research, containing a heterogenous mixture of immune and epithelial cells. Associations of exposure or disease with saliva DNA methylation can be influenced by cell-type proportions. Here, we developed a saliva cell-type DNA methylation reference panel to estimate interindividual cell-type heterogeneity in whole saliva studies. Saliva was collected from 22 children (7-16 years) and sorted into immune and epithelial cells, using ...[more]

PMID: 33588693

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Project description:DNA methylation has become increasingly recognized in the etiology of psychiatric disorders. Because brain tissue is not accessible in living humans, epigenetic studies are most often conducted in blood. Saliva is often collected for genotyping studies but is rarely used to examine DNA methylation because the proportion of epithelial cells and leukocytes varies extensively between individuals. The goal of this study was to evaluate whether saliva DNA is informative for studies of psychiatric disorders. Saliva and blood methylation was clearly distinguishable though there was positive correlation overall. There was little correlation in CpG sites within relevant candidate genes. Correlated CpG sites were more likely to occur in areas of low CpG density (i.e. CpG shores and open seas). There was more variability in CpG sites from saliva than blood, which may reflect its heterogeneity. Thus, this study provides a framework for using DNA methylation from saliva and suggests that DNA methylation of saliva may offer distinct opportunities for epidemiological and longitudinal studies of psychiatric traits. DNA methylation was assessed in saliva and blood samples from 64 adult African Americans. Both saliva and blood samples were collected from each participant. Saliva was stored in Oragene DNA sample collection kits (DNA Genotek), and blood was collected in EDTA vacuum tubes. DNA was extracted using the Puregene Genomic DNA kit (Invitrogen). DNA methylation was interrogated for each sample using the HumanMethylation450 BeadChip (Illumina). Analyses for tissue-specific DNA patterns were conducted using linear regression adjusted for appropriate covariates, including estimated cellular proportions. The estimated proportion of epithelial cells in saliva DNA ranged from 3-99% (median 26%). In blood, the estimated proportion of lymphocytes ranged from 25-70% (median 48%) and neutrophils ranged from 42-84% (median 58%). Methylation of 68.8% of all CpG sites differed relative to epithelial cell proportion (FDR<.05). Our results provide a framework for methylation studies in DNA extracted from saliva and highlight the importance of controlling for the proportion of epithelial and leukocyte cells. This presents an attractive opportunity for investigators that have already collected salivary DNA for genetic studies of psychiatric traits.

Dataset Information

Saliva cell type DNA methylation reference panel for epidemiological studies in children.

Publications

Saliva cell type DNA methylation reference panel for epidemiological studies in children.

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