Project description:We measured the DNA methylation levels at ~800,000 CpG sites from ethnically admixed children in CBMCs at birth and PBMCs age 7 to study the longitudinal dynamics of methylation marks. We found that self-reported race-dependent methylation levels were conserved over time, which helped to suggest that blood methylation levels are robust to environmental exposures during the first 7 years of life.
Project description:Genome-wide DNA methylation profiling using the Illumina EPIC 850k DNA methylation BeadChip array on 8 pools of human genomic DNA from whole blood for 190 individuals age matched at 4 time points; ~4, ~28, ~63, & ~78 years.
Project description:Background: Epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) have been widely applied to identify methylation CpG sites associated with human disease. To date, the Infinium Methylation EPIC array (EPIC) is commonly used for high-throughput DNA methylation profiling. However, the EPIC array covers only 30% of the human methylome. Methylation Capture bisulfite sequencing (MC-seq) captures target regions of methylome and has advantages of extensive coverage in the methylome at an affordable price. Methods: Epigenome-wide DNA methylation in four peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples was profiled by using SureSelectXT Methyl-Seq for MC-seq and EPIC platforms separately. CpG site-based reproducibility of MC-seq was assessed with DNA sample inputs ranging in quantity of high (> 1000ng), medium (300-1000ng), and low (150ng-300ng). To compare the performance of MC-seq and the EPIC arrays, we conducted a Pearson correlation and methylation value difference at each CpG site that was detected by both MC-seq and EPIC. We compared the percentage and counts in each CpG island and gene annotation between MC-seq and the EPIC array. Results: After quality control, an average of 3,708,550 CpG sites per sample was detected by MC-seq with DNA quantity >1000ng. Reproducibility of MC-seq detected CpG sites was high with strong correlation estimates for CpG methylation among samples with high, medium, and low DNA inputs (r > 0.96). The EPIC array captured an average of 846,464 CpG sites per sample. Compared with the EPIC array, MC-seq detected more CpGs in coding regions and CpG islands. Among the 472,540 CpG sites captured by both platforms, methylation of a majority of CpG sites was highly correlated in the same sample (r: 0.98~0.99). However, methylation for a small proportion of CpGs (N=235) differed significantly between the two platforms, with differences in beta values of greater than 0.5. Conclusions: Our results show that MC-seq is an efficient and reliable platform for methylome profiling with a broader coverage of the methylome than the array-based platform. Although methylation measurements in majority of CpGs are highly correlated, a number of CpG sites show large discrepancy between the two platforms, which warrants further investigation and needs cautious interpretation.
Project description:Age-related changes in DNA methylation occurring in blood leukocytes during early childhood may reflect epigenetic maturation. We hypothesized that some of these changes involve gene networks of critical relevance in leukocyte biology and conducted a prospective study to elucidate the dynamics of DNA methylation. Serial blood samples were collected at 3, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months after birth in 10 healthy girls born in Finland and participating in the Type 1 Diabetes Prediction and Prevention Study. DNA methylation was measured using the HumanMethylation450 BeadChip. After filtering for the presence of polymorphisms and cell-lineage-specific signatures, 794 CpGs showed significant DNA methylation differences as a function of age in all children (41.5% age-methylated and 58.4% age-demethylated, bonferroni corrected p-value <0.001). Age-methylated CpGs were more frequently located in gene bodies and within +5 to +50 kilobases (kb) of transcription start sites (TSS), and enriched in developmental, neuronal and plasma membrane genes. Age-demethylated CpGs were associated to promoters and DNAse-I hypersensitivity sites, located within -5 to +5 kb of the nearest TSS, and enriched in genes related to immunity, antigen presentation, the polycomb-group protein complex and cytoplasm. This study reveals that susceptibility loci for complex inflammatory diseases (e.g. IRF5, NOD2, PTGER4) and genes encoding histone modifiers and chromatin remodeling factors (e.g. HDAC4, KDM2A, KDM2B, JARID2, ARID3A, SMARCD3) undergo DNA methylation changes in leukocytes during early childhood. These results open new perspectives to understand leukocyte maturation and provide a catalog of CpGs that may need to be corrected for age effects when performing DNA methylation studies in children. We analysed the longitudinal changes in DNA methylation in a total of 60 samples at 3, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 months after birth, using serial DNA samples extracted from peripheral blood leukocytes of 10 healthy girls of the Diabetes Prediction and Prevention Study (DIPP).
Project description:Age-related changes in DNA methylation occurring in blood leukocytes during early childhood may reflect epigenetic maturation. We hypothesized that some of these changes involve gene networks of critical relevance in leukocyte biology and conducted a prospective study to elucidate the dynamics of DNA methylation. Serial blood samples were collected at 3, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months after birth in 10 healthy girls born in Finland and participating in the Type 1 Diabetes Prediction and Prevention Study. DNA methylation was measured using the HumanMethylation450 BeadChip. After filtering for the presence of polymorphisms and cell-lineage-specific signatures, 794 CpGs showed significant DNA methylation differences as a function of age in all children (41.5% age-methylated and 58.4% age-demethylated, bonferroni corrected p-value <0.001). Age-methylated CpGs were more frequently located in gene bodies and within +5 to +50 kilobases (kb) of transcription start sites (TSS), and enriched in developmental, neuronal and plasma membrane genes. Age-demethylated CpGs were associated to promoters and DNAse-I hypersensitivity sites, located within -5 to +5 kb of the nearest TSS, and enriched in genes related to immunity, antigen presentation, the polycomb-group protein complex and cytoplasm. This study reveals that susceptibility loci for complex inflammatory diseases (e.g. IRF5, NOD2, PTGER4) and genes encoding histone modifiers and chromatin remodeling factors (e.g. HDAC4, KDM2A, KDM2B, JARID2, ARID3A, SMARCD3) undergo DNA methylation changes in leukocytes during early childhood. These results open new perspectives to understand leukocyte maturation and provide a catalog of CpGs that may need to be corrected for age effects when performing DNA methylation studies in children.
Project description:DNA methylation microarray analysis was performed on human donor whole blood samples from patients with and without AMD. A total of 30 patient samples including 16 Normal, 3 AREDS grade 2 (early AMD) and 11 AREDS grade 3 (intermediate AMD) (AMD total, n = 14) were selected. Samples were obtained from individuals phenotyped according to the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) classification. DNAm levels were measured using the EPIC-array (Illumina Inc., San Diego, CA, USA). Samples run on the EPIC-array were randomized and balanced for disease status and smoking status to minimise chip and row specific effects. The EPIC-array incorporated technical controls into the experimental design. In total, 500 ng (50 ng/μL) total peripheral whole blood-derived gDNA was bisulfite converted using the EZ-96 DNA methylation kit (Zymo Research, Irvine, CA, USA) and hybridised to the EPIC-array according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Quality control analysis was performed using GenomeStudio (v2011.1). Raw IDAT files were then read into R (version 3.31) using the read.metharray.exp function within the minfi package. DNA methylation microarray data was collected in order to assess the estimated DNA methylation age using the Horvath multi-tissue, Hannum and Skin & Blood epigenetic clocks and to identify loci of differential methylation between the experimental groups.
Project description:Rates of oxytocin use to induce or augment labor are increasing in the United States with little understanding of the impact on offspring development. Using a prairie vole animal model, we have shown that oxytocin administered to mothers can reach offspring brains with long lasting impacts on the development of social behaviors. Here, we examine the epigenetic and transcriptomic consequences of oxytocin exposure during birth in juvenile male offspring. First, we show that male offspring exposed to oxytocin at birth have increased epigenetic age compared to the saline exposed group. We also find 900 differentially methylated CpG sites (annotated to 589 genes), with 2 CpG sites (2 genes) remaining significant after correction for multiple comparisons. Differentially methylated CpG sites are involved in regulation of gene expression and neurodevelopment. Using RNA-sequencing we find 217 nominally differentially expressed genes (p<0.05) in nucleus accumbens, a brain region involved in reward circuitry and social behavior, including 6 genes that remain significantly differentially expressed after corrections for multiple comparisons. Finally, we show that maternal oxytocin administration leads to widespread alternative splicing in the nucleus accumbens. These results indicate that oxytocin exposure during birth has long lasting epigenetic consequences in the brain and warrant further investigation of how oxytocin administration impacts development and behavior throughout the lifespan.
Project description:Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation850 BeadChip (also known as Illumina EPIC array, GPL23976) was used to generate DNA methylation data from synthetic DNA from 3 species. The DNA samples from each species were enzymatically manipulated so that they would exhibit 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% percent methylation at each CpG location, respectively. The variable “ProportionMethylated” (with ordinal values 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1) can be interpreted as a benchmark for each CpG that maps to the respective genome. Thus, the DNA methylation levels of each CpG are expected to have a high positive correlation with ProportionMethylated across the arrays measurement for the human species. The human EPIC array was applied to calibration data from mouse (n=15 EPIC arrays, 3 per methylation level) and rat (n=10, 2 per methylation level). The EPIC array data were normalized using the noob method (R function preprocessNoob in minfi).