Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jun;70(6):878-890.
doi: 10.1002/art.40422. Epub 2018 May 9.

Twin DNA Methylation Profiling Reveals Flare-Dependent Interferon Signature and B Cell Promoter Hypermethylation in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Constance J Ulff-Møller  1 , Fazila Asmar  2 , Yi Liu  3 , Anders J Svendsen  4 , Florence Busato  3 , Kirsten Grønbaek  5 , Jörg Tost  3 , Søren Jacobsen  5
Affiliations

Twin DNA Methylation Profiling Reveals Flare-Dependent Interferon Signature and B Cell Promoter Hypermethylation in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Constance J Ulff-Møller et al. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2018 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has limited monozygotic twin concordance, implying a role for pathogenic factors other than genetic variation, such as epigenetic changes. Using the disease-discordant twin model, we investigated genome-wide DNA methylation changes in sorted CD4+ T cells, monocytes, granulocytes, and B cells in twin pairs with at least 1 SLE-affected twin.

Methods: Peripheral blood obtained from 15 SLE-affected twin pairs (6 monozygotic and 9 dizygotic) was processed using density-gradient centrifugation for the granulocyte fraction. CD4+ T cells, monocytes, and B cells were further isolated using magnetic beads. Genome-wide DNA methylation was analyzed using Infinium HumanMethylation450K BeadChips. When comparing probes from SLE-affected twins and co-twins, differential DNA methylation was considered statistically significant when the P value was less than 0.01 and biologically relevant when the median DNA methylation difference was >7%. Findings were validated by pyrosequencing and replicated in an independent case-control sample.

Results: In paired analyses of twins discordant for SLE restricted to the gene promoter and start region, we identified 55, 327, 247, and 1,628 genes with differentially methylated CpGs in CD4+ T cells, monocytes, granulocytes, and B cells, respectively. All cell types displayed marked hypomethylation in interferon-regulated genes, such as IFI44L, PARP9, and IFITM1, which was more pronounced in twins who experienced a disease flare within the past 2 years. In contrast to what was observed in the other cell types, differentially methylated CpGs in B cells were predominantly hypermethylated, and the most important upstream regulators included TNF and EP300.

Conclusion: Hypomethylation of interferon-regulated genes occurs in all major cellular compartments in SLE-affected twins. The observed B cell promoter hypermethylation is a novel finding with potential significance in SLE pathogenesis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

Associated data