Project description:Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic relapsing autoimmune disease characterized by the production of autoantibodies and multiple organ involvement. In this study, we investigated genome-wide DNA methylation changes in the CD8+ T cells from 8 pairs of lupus patients compared to age, sex, and ethnicity matched healthy controls.
Project description:Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), also known simply as lupus, is an autoimmune disease. There is no cure for SLE. The mechanism involves an immune response by autoantibodies against a person's own tissues. However, the mechanism underlying imbalance of autoantibodies is not clear. In this experiment, peripheral blood was obtained from normal healthy donors and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were separated by Ficoll separation solution. Samples of four (total eight) donors were pooled and Samples of four (total eight) SLE patients were pooled. The aim was to characterize the mRNA profile of SLE patients compared to healthy donors and find the new target of diagnosis or treatment for SLE.
Project description:<p>Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease that can have debilitating effects on multiple organ systems. In SLE, the pivotal immunologic disturbance is the formation of autoantibodies directed against nuclear and cellular antigens. These autoantibodies are associated with specific organ manifestations. Our previous work has shown that certain single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are associated with the production of SLE-related autoantibodies. However, these genetic associations do not completely explain autoantibody development in SLE. Therefore, we examined whether epigenetic factors such as DNA methylation may be associated with the development of SLE-related autoantibodies.</p> <p>In this study, we examined whether differential DNA methylation is associated with anti-dsDNA, anti-SSA/Ro, anti-Smith, and anti-RNP autoantibodies. Using the Illumina HumanMethylation450 Beadchip, over 450,000 DNA methylation sites were characterized in 325 female SLE cases of European descent. Using a multivariable regression analyses, the methylation status of 16 CpG sites in 11 genes was found to be associated with the SLE-related autoantibodies under study. This study shows that epigenetic factors are associated with autoimmune disease phenotypes, and epigenetic studies are a complementary method to genetic association studies for understanding the biologic mechanisms contributing to autoimmune disease.</p>
Project description:Autoantibodies target the RNA-binding protein Ro60 in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and Sjögren's syndrome. However, whether Ro60 and its associated RNAs contribute to disease pathogenesis is unclear. We catalogued the Ro60-associated RNAs in human cell lines. iCLIP in 2 cell lines (GM12878, K562).
Project description:To screen specific DNA methylation markers in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patient's blood DNA, whole-blood DNAs from 6 female SLE patients and 6 female controls were analyzed by methylation microarray.
Project description:Autoantibodies target the RNA-binding protein Ro60 in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and Sjögren's syndrome. However, whether Ro60 and its associated RNAs contribute to disease pathogenesis is unclear. We catalogued the Ro60-associated RNAs in human cell lines.
Project description:Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a heterogeneous disease which leads to different levels of serum autoantibodies to RNA-binding proteins (anti-RBP) and interferon-α (IFN-α), which plays an important pathogenic role in SLE, between European-American (EA) and African-American (AA) patients. We aimed to explore how IFN-related gene expression pathways differ in patients according to their ancestry and anti-RBP profile
