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Lukacsovich D, O’Shea D, Huang H, Zhang W, Young J, Chen XS, Dietrich ST, Kunkle B, Martin E, Wang L. MIAMI-AD (Methylation in Aging and Methylation in AD): an integrative knowledgebase that facilitates explorations of DNA methylation across sex, aging, and Alzheimer's disease. Database (Oxford) 2024; 2024:baae061. [PMID: 39028752 PMCID: PMC11259044 DOI: 10.1093/database/baae061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2024] [Revised: 05/08/2024] [Accepted: 07/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/21/2024]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder with a significant impact on aging populations. DNA methylation (DNAm) alterations have been implicated in both the aging processes and the development of AD. Given that AD affects more women than men, it is also important to explore DNAm changes that occur specifically in each sex. We created MIAMI-AD, a comprehensive knowledgebase containing manually curated summary statistics from 98 published tables in 38 studies, all of which included at least 100 participants. MIAMI-AD enables easy browsing, querying, and downloading DNAm associations at multiple levels-at individual CpG, gene, genomic regions, or genome-wide, in one or multiple studies. Moreover, it also offers tools to perform integrative analyses, such as comparing DNAm associations across different phenotypes or tissues, as well as interactive visualizations. Using several use case examples, we demonstrated that MIAMI-AD facilitates our understanding of age-associated CpGs in AD and the sex-specific roles of DNAm in AD. This open-access resource is freely available to the research community, and all the underlying data can be downloaded. MIAMI-AD facilitates integrative explorations to better understand the interplay between DNAm across aging, sex, and AD. Database URL: https://miami-ad.org/.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Lukacsovich
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, 1120 NW 14th Street, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Deirdre O’Shea
- Department of Neurology, Comprehensive Center for Brain Health, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, 7700 W Camino Real, Boca Raton, FL 33433, USA
| | - Hanchen Huang
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, 1120 NW 14th Street, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Wei Zhang
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, 1120 NW 14th Street, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Juan Young
- Dr. John T Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, 1501 NW 10th Ave, Miami, FL 33136, USA
- John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, 1501 NW 10th Ave, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - X Steven Chen
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, 1120 NW 14th Street, Miami, FL 33136, USA
- Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, 1475 NW 12th Ave, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Sven-Thorsten Dietrich
- John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, 1501 NW 10th Ave, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Brian Kunkle
- Dr. John T Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, 1501 NW 10th Ave, Miami, FL 33136, USA
- John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, 1501 NW 10th Ave, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Eden Martin
- Dr. John T Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, 1501 NW 10th Ave, Miami, FL 33136, USA
- John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, 1501 NW 10th Ave, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Lily Wang
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, 1120 NW 14th Street, Miami, FL 33136, USA
- Dr. John T Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, 1501 NW 10th Ave, Miami, FL 33136, USA
- John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, 1501 NW 10th Ave, Miami, FL 33136, USA
- Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, 1475 NW 12th Ave, Miami, FL 33136, USA
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Zhang Y, Shen S. Epigenome-wide DNA methylation analysis of late-stage mild cognitive impairment. Front Cell Dev Biol 2024; 12:1276288. [PMID: 38298218 PMCID: PMC10824854 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2024.1276288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Background: Patients with late-stage mild cognitive impairment (LMCI) have a higher risk of progression to Alzheimer's disease (AD) than those with early-stage mild cognitive impairment (EMCI). However, previous studies have often pooled EMCI and LMCI patients into a single MCI group, with limited independent investigation into the pathogenesis of LMCI. Methods: In this study, we employed whole-genome methylation association analysis to determine the differences in peripheral blood methylation profiles between 663 cognitive aging (CN) and 554 LMCI patients. Results: Our results revealed 2,333 differentially methylated probes (DMPs) and 85 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) specific to LMCI. The top hit methylation sites or regions were associated with genes such as SNED1, histone deacetylases coding gene HDACs, and HOX and ZNF gene family. The DNA methylations upregulated the expression of HDAC4, HDAC8, and HOX family genes HOXC5 and HOXC9, but they downregulated the expression of SNED1, ADCYAP1, and ZNF family genes ZNF415 and ZNF502. Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG analysis showed that the genes associated with these methylation sites were predominantly related to the processes of addiction disorders, neurotransmission, and neurogenesis. Out of the 554 LMCI patients included in this study, 358 subjects (65%) had progressed to AD. Further association analysis between the LMCI subjects with a stable course (sLMCI) and those who progressed to AD (pLMCI) indicated that the methylation signal intensities of HDAC6, ZNF502, HOXC5, HOXC6, and HOXD8 were associated with increased susceptibility to AD. Protective effects against progression to AD were noticed when the methylation of SNED1 and ZNF727 appeared in LMCI patients. Conclusion: Our findings highlight a substantial number of LMCI-specific methylated biomarkers that differ from those identified in previous MCI case-control studies. These biomarkers have the potential to contribute to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of LMCI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Zhang
- Institute of Neuroscience, Panzhihua University, Panzhihua, China
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Sun Y, Zhu J, Yang Y, Zhang Z, Zhong H, Zeng G, Zhou D, Nowakowski RS, Long J, Wu C, Wu L. Identification of candidate DNA methylation biomarkers related to Alzheimer's disease risk by integrating genome and blood methylome data. Transl Psychiatry 2023; 13:387. [PMID: 38092781 PMCID: PMC10719322 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02695-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Revised: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disease with a late onset. It is critical to identify novel blood-based DNA methylation biomarkers to better understand the extent of the molecular pathways affected in AD. Two sets of blood DNA methylation genetic prediction models developed using different reference panels and modelling strategies were leveraged to evaluate associations of genetically predicted DNA methylation levels with AD risk in 111,326 (46,828 proxy) cases and 677,663 controls. A total of 1,168 cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) sites showed a significant association with AD risk at a false discovery rate (FDR) < 0.05. Methylation levels of 196 CpG sites were correlated with expression levels of 130 adjacent genes in blood. Overall, 52 CpG sites of 32 genes showed consistent association directions for the methylation-gene expression-AD risk, including nine genes (CNIH4, THUMPD3, SERPINB9, MTUS1, CISD1, FRAT2, CCDC88B, FES, and SSH2) firstly reported as AD risk genes. Nine of 32 genes were enriched in dementia and AD disease categories (P values ranged from 1.85 × 10-4 to 7.46 × 10-6), and 19 genes in a neurological disease network (score = 54) were also observed. Our findings improve the understanding of genetics and etiology for AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanfa Sun
- College of Life Science, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory for the Prevention and Control of Animal Infectious Diseases and Biotechnology, Fujian Provincial Universities Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology (Longyan University), Longyan University, Longyan, Fujian, 364012, P. R. China
- Cancer Epidemiology Division, Population Sciences in the Pacific Program, University of Hawaii Cancer Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, 96813, USA
| | - Jingjing Zhu
- Cancer Epidemiology Division, Population Sciences in the Pacific Program, University of Hawaii Cancer Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, 96813, USA
| | - Yaohua Yang
- Center for Public Health Genomics, Department of Public Health Sciences, UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 22093, USA
| | - Zichen Zhang
- Department of Biostatistics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Hua Zhong
- Cancer Epidemiology Division, Population Sciences in the Pacific Program, University of Hawaii Cancer Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, 96813, USA
| | - Guanghua Zeng
- College of Life Science, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory for the Prevention and Control of Animal Infectious Diseases and Biotechnology, Fujian Provincial Universities Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology (Longyan University), Longyan University, Longyan, Fujian, 364012, P. R. China
| | - Dan Zhou
- School of Public Health and the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310058, P.R. China
| | - Richard S Nowakowski
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32304, USA
| | - Jirong Long
- Division of Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, 37203, USA
| | - Chong Wu
- Department of Biostatistics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Lang Wu
- Cancer Epidemiology Division, Population Sciences in the Pacific Program, University of Hawaii Cancer Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, 96813, USA.
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Lukacsovich D, O’Shea D, Huang H, Zhang W, Young JI, Steven Chen X, Dietrich ST, Kunkle B, Martin ER, Wang L. MIAMI-AD (Methylation in Aging and Methylation in AD): an integrative knowledgebase that facilitates explorations of DNA methylation across sex, aging, and Alzheimer's disease. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2023:2023.12.04.23299412. [PMID: 38105943 PMCID: PMC10723513 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.04.23299412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder with a significant impact on aging populations. DNA methylation (DNAm) alterations have been implicated in both the aging processes and the development of AD. Given that AD affects more women than men, it is also important to explore DNAm changes that occur specifically in each sex. We created MIAMI-AD, a comprehensive knowledge base containing manually curated summary statistics from 97 published tables in 37 studies, all of which included at least 100 participants. MIAMI-AD enables easy browsing, querying, and downloading DNAm associations at multiple levels - at individual CpG, gene, genomic regions, or genome-wide, in one or multiple studies. Moreover, it also offers tools to perform integrative analyses, such as comparing DNAm associations across different phenotypes or tissues, as well as interactive visualizations. Using several use case examples, we demonstrated that MIAMI-AD facilitates our understanding of age-associated CpGs in AD and the sex-specific roles of DNAm in AD. This open-access resource is freely available to the research community, and all the underlying data can be downloaded. MIAMI-AD (https://miami-ad.org/) facilitates integrative explorations to better understand the interplay between DNAm across aging, sex, and AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Lukacsovich
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Deirdre O’Shea
- Department of Neurology, Comprehensive Center for Brain Health, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Boca Raton, FL, 33433
| | - Hanchen Huang
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Wei Zhang
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Juan I. Young
- Dr. John T Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
- John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - X. Steven Chen
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
- Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Sven-Thorsten Dietrich
- John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Brian Kunkle
- Dr. John T Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
- John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Eden R. Martin
- Dr. John T Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
- John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Lily Wang
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
- Dr. John T Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
- John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
- Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
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Acha B, Corroza J, Sánchez-Ruiz de Gordoa J, Cabello C, Robles M, Méndez-López I, Macías M, Zueco S, Roldan M, Urdánoz-Casado A, Jericó I, Erro ME, Alcolea D, Lleo A, Blanco-Luquin I, Mendioroz M. Association of Blood-Based DNA Methylation Markers With Late-Onset Alzheimer Disease: A Potential Diagnostic Approach. Neurology 2023; 101:e2434-e2447. [PMID: 37827850 PMCID: PMC10752644 DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000207865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES There is an urgent need to identify novel noninvasive biomarkers for Alzheimer disease (AD) diagnosis. Recent advances in blood-based measurements of phosphorylated tau (pTau) species are promising but still insufficient to address clinical needs. Epigenetics has been shown to be helpful to better understand AD pathogenesis. Epigenetic biomarkers have been successfully implemented in other medical disciplines, such as oncology. The objective of this study was to explore the diagnostic accuracy of a blood-based DNA methylation marker panel as a noninvasive tool to identify patients with late-onset Alzheimer compared with age-matched controls. METHODS A case-control study was performed. Blood DNA methylation levels at 46 cytosine-guanine sites (21 genes selected after a comprehensive literature search) were measured by bisulfite pyrosequencing in patients with "probable AD dementia" following National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association guidelines (2011) and age-matched and sex-matched controls recruited at Neurology Department-University Hospital of Navarre, Spain, selected by convenience sampling. Plasma pTau181 levels were determined by Simoa technology. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the optimal model to discriminate patients with AD from controls. Furthermore, we performed a stratified analysis by sex. RESULTS The final study cohort consisted of 80 patients with AD (age: median [interquartile range] 79 [11] years; 58.8% female) and 100 cognitively healthy controls (age 77 [10] years; 58% female). A panel including DNA methylation levels at NXN, ABCA7, and HOXA3 genes and plasma pTau181 significantly improved (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 0.93, 95% CI 0.89-0.97) the diagnostic performance of a single pTau181-based model, adjusted for age, sex, and APOE ɛ4 genotype. The sensitivity and specificity of this panel were 83.30% and 90.00%, respectively. After sex-stratified analysis, HOXA3 DNA methylation levels showed consistent association with AD. DISCUSSION These results highlight the potential translational value of blood-based DNA methylation biomarkers for noninvasive diagnosis of AD. REGISTRATION INFORMATION Research Ethics Committee of the University Hospital of Navarre (PI17/02218).
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Affiliation(s)
- Blanca Acha
- From the Navarrabiomed (B.A., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., M. Robles, I.M.-L., M.M., S.Z., M. Roldan, A.U.-C., I.J., M.E.E., I.B.-L., M.M.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA); Departments of Neurology (J.C., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., I.J., M.E.E., M.M.) and Internal Medicine (I.M.-L.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Pamplona; Department of Neurology (D.A., A.L.), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalunya; and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (D.A., A.L.), CIBERNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jon Corroza
- From the Navarrabiomed (B.A., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., M. Robles, I.M.-L., M.M., S.Z., M. Roldan, A.U.-C., I.J., M.E.E., I.B.-L., M.M.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA); Departments of Neurology (J.C., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., I.J., M.E.E., M.M.) and Internal Medicine (I.M.-L.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Pamplona; Department of Neurology (D.A., A.L.), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalunya; and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (D.A., A.L.), CIBERNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier Sánchez-Ruiz de Gordoa
- From the Navarrabiomed (B.A., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., M. Robles, I.M.-L., M.M., S.Z., M. Roldan, A.U.-C., I.J., M.E.E., I.B.-L., M.M.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA); Departments of Neurology (J.C., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., I.J., M.E.E., M.M.) and Internal Medicine (I.M.-L.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Pamplona; Department of Neurology (D.A., A.L.), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalunya; and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (D.A., A.L.), CIBERNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Carolina Cabello
- From the Navarrabiomed (B.A., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., M. Robles, I.M.-L., M.M., S.Z., M. Roldan, A.U.-C., I.J., M.E.E., I.B.-L., M.M.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA); Departments of Neurology (J.C., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., I.J., M.E.E., M.M.) and Internal Medicine (I.M.-L.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Pamplona; Department of Neurology (D.A., A.L.), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalunya; and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (D.A., A.L.), CIBERNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Maitane Robles
- From the Navarrabiomed (B.A., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., M. Robles, I.M.-L., M.M., S.Z., M. Roldan, A.U.-C., I.J., M.E.E., I.B.-L., M.M.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA); Departments of Neurology (J.C., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., I.J., M.E.E., M.M.) and Internal Medicine (I.M.-L.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Pamplona; Department of Neurology (D.A., A.L.), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalunya; and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (D.A., A.L.), CIBERNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Iván Méndez-López
- From the Navarrabiomed (B.A., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., M. Robles, I.M.-L., M.M., S.Z., M. Roldan, A.U.-C., I.J., M.E.E., I.B.-L., M.M.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA); Departments of Neurology (J.C., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., I.J., M.E.E., M.M.) and Internal Medicine (I.M.-L.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Pamplona; Department of Neurology (D.A., A.L.), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalunya; and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (D.A., A.L.), CIBERNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Mónica Macías
- From the Navarrabiomed (B.A., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., M. Robles, I.M.-L., M.M., S.Z., M. Roldan, A.U.-C., I.J., M.E.E., I.B.-L., M.M.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA); Departments of Neurology (J.C., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., I.J., M.E.E., M.M.) and Internal Medicine (I.M.-L.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Pamplona; Department of Neurology (D.A., A.L.), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalunya; and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (D.A., A.L.), CIBERNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sara Zueco
- From the Navarrabiomed (B.A., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., M. Robles, I.M.-L., M.M., S.Z., M. Roldan, A.U.-C., I.J., M.E.E., I.B.-L., M.M.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA); Departments of Neurology (J.C., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., I.J., M.E.E., M.M.) and Internal Medicine (I.M.-L.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Pamplona; Department of Neurology (D.A., A.L.), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalunya; and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (D.A., A.L.), CIBERNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Miren Roldan
- From the Navarrabiomed (B.A., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., M. Robles, I.M.-L., M.M., S.Z., M. Roldan, A.U.-C., I.J., M.E.E., I.B.-L., M.M.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA); Departments of Neurology (J.C., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., I.J., M.E.E., M.M.) and Internal Medicine (I.M.-L.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Pamplona; Department of Neurology (D.A., A.L.), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalunya; and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (D.A., A.L.), CIBERNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Amaya Urdánoz-Casado
- From the Navarrabiomed (B.A., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., M. Robles, I.M.-L., M.M., S.Z., M. Roldan, A.U.-C., I.J., M.E.E., I.B.-L., M.M.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA); Departments of Neurology (J.C., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., I.J., M.E.E., M.M.) and Internal Medicine (I.M.-L.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Pamplona; Department of Neurology (D.A., A.L.), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalunya; and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (D.A., A.L.), CIBERNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ivonne Jericó
- From the Navarrabiomed (B.A., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., M. Robles, I.M.-L., M.M., S.Z., M. Roldan, A.U.-C., I.J., M.E.E., I.B.-L., M.M.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA); Departments of Neurology (J.C., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., I.J., M.E.E., M.M.) and Internal Medicine (I.M.-L.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Pamplona; Department of Neurology (D.A., A.L.), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalunya; and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (D.A., A.L.), CIBERNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Maria Elena Erro
- From the Navarrabiomed (B.A., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., M. Robles, I.M.-L., M.M., S.Z., M. Roldan, A.U.-C., I.J., M.E.E., I.B.-L., M.M.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA); Departments of Neurology (J.C., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., I.J., M.E.E., M.M.) and Internal Medicine (I.M.-L.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Pamplona; Department of Neurology (D.A., A.L.), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalunya; and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (D.A., A.L.), CIBERNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Daniel Alcolea
- From the Navarrabiomed (B.A., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., M. Robles, I.M.-L., M.M., S.Z., M. Roldan, A.U.-C., I.J., M.E.E., I.B.-L., M.M.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA); Departments of Neurology (J.C., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., I.J., M.E.E., M.M.) and Internal Medicine (I.M.-L.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Pamplona; Department of Neurology (D.A., A.L.), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalunya; and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (D.A., A.L.), CIBERNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Alberto Lleo
- From the Navarrabiomed (B.A., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., M. Robles, I.M.-L., M.M., S.Z., M. Roldan, A.U.-C., I.J., M.E.E., I.B.-L., M.M.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA); Departments of Neurology (J.C., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., I.J., M.E.E., M.M.) and Internal Medicine (I.M.-L.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Pamplona; Department of Neurology (D.A., A.L.), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalunya; and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (D.A., A.L.), CIBERNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Idoia Blanco-Luquin
- From the Navarrabiomed (B.A., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., M. Robles, I.M.-L., M.M., S.Z., M. Roldan, A.U.-C., I.J., M.E.E., I.B.-L., M.M.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA); Departments of Neurology (J.C., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., I.J., M.E.E., M.M.) and Internal Medicine (I.M.-L.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Pamplona; Department of Neurology (D.A., A.L.), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalunya; and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (D.A., A.L.), CIBERNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Maite Mendioroz
- From the Navarrabiomed (B.A., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., M. Robles, I.M.-L., M.M., S.Z., M. Roldan, A.U.-C., I.J., M.E.E., I.B.-L., M.M.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA); Departments of Neurology (J.C., J.S.-R.d.G., C.C., I.J., M.E.E., M.M.) and Internal Medicine (I.M.-L.), Hospital Universitario de Navarra-IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), Pamplona; Department of Neurology (D.A., A.L.), Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalunya; and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (D.A., A.L.), CIBERNED, Madrid, Spain.
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Harvey J, Pishva E, Chouliaras L, Lunnon K. Elucidating distinct molecular signatures of Lewy body dementias. Neurobiol Dis 2023; 188:106337. [PMID: 37918758 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2023.106337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2023] [Revised: 10/15/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson's disease dementia are common neurodegenerative diseases that share similar neuropathological profiles and spectra of clinical symptoms but are primarily differentiated by the order in which symptoms manifest. The question of whether a distinct molecular pathological profile could distinguish these disorders is yet to be answered. However, in recent years, studies have begun to investigate genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic and proteomic differences that may differentiate these disorders, providing novel insights in to disease etiology. In this review, we present an overview of the clinical and pathological hallmarks of Lewy body dementias before summarizing relevant research into genetic, epigenetic, transcriptional and protein signatures in these diseases, with a particular interest in those resolving "omic" level changes. We conclude by suggesting future research directions to address current gaps and questions present within the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Harvey
- Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Ehsan Pishva
- Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK; Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNS), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Leonidas Chouliaras
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Specialist Dementia and Frailty Service, Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, Epping, UK
| | - Katie Lunnon
- Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
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7
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Signal B, Pérez Suárez TG, Taberlay PC, Woodhouse A. Cellular specificity is key to deciphering epigenetic changes underlying Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiol Dis 2023; 186:106284. [PMID: 37683959 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2023.106284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2023] [Revised: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Different cell types in the brain play distinct roles in Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression. Late onset AD (LOAD) is a complex disease, with a large genetic component, but many risk loci fall in non-coding genome regions. Epigenetics implicates the non-coding genome with control of gene expression. The epigenome is highly cell-type specific and dynamically responds to the environment. Therefore, epigenetic mechanisms are well placed to explain genetic and environmental factors that are associated with AD. However, given this cellular specificity, purified cell populations or single cells need to be profiled to avoid effect masking. Here we review the current state of cell-type specific genome-wide profiling in LOAD, covering DNA methylation (CpG, CpH, and hydroxymethylation), histone modifications, and chromatin changes. To date, these data reveal that distinct cell types contribute and react differently to AD progression through epigenetic alterations. This review addresses the current gap in prior bulk-tissue derived work by spotlighting cell-specific changes that govern the complex interplay of cells throughout disease progression and are critical in understanding and developing effective treatments for AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon Signal
- School of Medicine, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia.
| | | | - Phillippa C Taberlay
- School of Medicine, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia
| | - Adele Woodhouse
- Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia
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Harvey J, Smith AR, Weymouth LS, Smith RG, Castanho I, Hubbard L, Creese B, Bresner K, Williams N, Pishva E, Lunnon K. Epigenetic insights into neuropsychiatric and cognitive symptoms in Parkinson's disease: A DNA co-methylation network analysis. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-3185734. [PMID: 37790398 PMCID: PMC10543025 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3185734/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
Parkinson's disease is a highly heterogeneous disorder, encompassing a complex spectrum of clinical presentation including motor, sleep, cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms. We aimed to investigate genome-wide DNA methylation networks in post-mortem Parkinson's disease brain samples and test for region-specific association with common neuropsychiatric and cognitive symptoms. Of traits tested, we identify a co-methylation module in the substantia nigra with significant correlation to depressive symptoms and with ontological enrichment for terms relevant to neuronal and synaptic processes. Notably, expression of the genes annotated to the methylation loci present within this module are found to be significantly enriched in neuronal subtypes within the substantia nigra. These findings highlight the potential involvement of neuronal-specific changes within the substantia nigra with regard to depressive symptoms in Parkinson's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Harvey
- Medical School, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Adam R Smith
- Medical School, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Luke S Weymouth
- Medical School, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Rebecca G Smith
- Medical School, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Isabel Castanho
- Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Leon Hubbard
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - Byron Creese
- Medical School, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Kate Bresner
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - Nigel Williams
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - Ehsan Pishva
- Medical School, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNS), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Katie Lunnon
- Medical School, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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Wu S, Yang F, Chao S, Wang B, Wang W, Li H, Yu L, He L, Li X, Sun L, Qin S. Altered DNA methylome profiles of blood leukocytes in Chinese patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. Front Genet 2023; 14:1175864. [PMID: 37388929 PMCID: PMC10300350 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1175864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective: DNA methylation plays a potential role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, little is known about the global changes of blood leukocyte DNA methylome profiles from Chinese patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and with AD, or the specific DNA methylation-based signatures associated with MCI and AD. In this study, we sought to dissect the characteristics of blood DNA methylome profiles in MCI- and AD-affected Chinese patients with the aim of identifying novel DNA methylation biomarkers for AD. Methods: In this study, we profiled the DNA methylome of peripheral blood leukocytes from 20 MCI- and 20 AD-affected Chinese patients and 20 cognitively healthy controls (CHCs) with the Infinium Methylation EPIC BeadChip array. Results: We identified significant alterations of the methylome profiles in MCI and AD blood leukocytes. A total of 2,582 and 20,829 CpG sites were significantly and differentially methylated in AD and MCI compared with CHCs (adjusted p < 0.05), respectively. Furthermore, 441 differentially methylated positions (DMPs), aligning to 213 unique genes, were overlapped by the three comparative groups of AD versus CHCs, MCI versus CHCs, and AD versus MCI, of which 6 and 5 DMPs were continuously hypermethylated and hypomethylated in MCI and AD relative to CHCs (adjusted p < 0.05), respectively, such as FLNC cg20186636 and AFAP1 cg06758191. The DMPs with an area under the curve >0.900, such as cg18771300, showed high potency for predicting MCI and AD. In addition, gene ontology and pathway enrichment results showed that these overlapping genes were mainly involved in neurotransmitter transport, GABAergic synaptic transmission, signal release from synapse, neurotransmitter secretion, and the regulation of neurotransmitter levels. Furthermore, tissue expression enrichment analysis revealed a subset of potentially cerebral cortex-enriched genes associated with MCI and AD, including SYT7, SYN3, and KCNT1. Conclusion: This study revealed a number of potential biomarkers for MCI and AD, also highlighted the presence of epigenetically dysregulated gene networks that may engage in the underlying pathological events resulting in the onset of cognitive impairment and AD progression. Collectively, this study provides prospective cues for developing therapeutic strategies to improve cognitive impairment and AD course.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaochang Wu
- Department of Geriatrics, Lishui Second People’s Hospital, Lishui, China
| | - Fan Yang
- Key Laboratory of Cell Engineering in Guizhou Province, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
- Research Center for Lin He Academician New Medicine, Institutes for Shanghai Pudong Decoding Life, Shanghai, China
| | - Shan Chao
- Research Center for Lin He Academician New Medicine, Institutes for Shanghai Pudong Decoding Life, Shanghai, China
| | - Bo Wang
- Research Center for Lin He Academician New Medicine, Institutes for Shanghai Pudong Decoding Life, Shanghai, China
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Key Laboratory for Major Obstetric Diseases of Guangdong Province, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Wuqian Wang
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
- Research Center for Lin He Academician New Medicine, Institutes for Shanghai Pudong Decoding Life, Shanghai, China
| | - He Li
- Department of Geriatrics, Lishui Second People’s Hospital, Lishui, China
| | - Limei Yu
- Key Laboratory of Cell Engineering in Guizhou Province, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China
| | - Lin He
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xingwang Li
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Liya Sun
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
- Research Center for Lin He Academician New Medicine, Institutes for Shanghai Pudong Decoding Life, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Mental Health Center, Editorial Office, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shengying Qin
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
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Milicic L, Porter T, Vacher M, Laws SM. Utility of DNA Methylation as a Biomarker in Aging and Alzheimer's Disease. J Alzheimers Dis Rep 2023; 7:475-503. [PMID: 37313495 PMCID: PMC10259073 DOI: 10.3233/adr-220109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation have been implicated in a number of diseases including cancer, heart disease, autoimmune disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases. While it is recognized that DNA methylation is tissue-specific, a limitation for many studies is the ability to sample the tissue of interest, which is why there is a need for a proxy tissue such as blood, that is reflective of the methylation state of the target tissue. In the last decade, DNA methylation has been utilized in the design of epigenetic clocks, which aim to predict an individual's biological age based on an algorithmically defined set of CpGs. A number of studies have found associations between disease and/or disease risk with increased biological age, adding weight to the theory of increased biological age being linked with disease processes. Hence, this review takes a closer look at the utility of DNA methylation as a biomarker in aging and disease, with a particular focus on Alzheimer's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lidija Milicic
- Centre for Precision Health, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia
- Collaborative Genomics and Translation Group, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia
- School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Tenielle Porter
- Centre for Precision Health, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia
- Collaborative Genomics and Translation Group, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia
- School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia
- Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Michael Vacher
- Centre for Precision Health, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia
- CSIRO Health and Biosecurity, Australian e-Health Research Centre, Floreat, Western Australia
| | - Simon M. Laws
- Centre for Precision Health, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia
- Collaborative Genomics and Translation Group, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia
- School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia
- Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
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11
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Yano N, Fedulov AV. Targeted DNA Demethylation: Vectors, Effectors and Perspectives. Biomedicines 2023; 11:biomedicines11051334. [PMID: 37239005 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11051334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Revised: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Aberrant DNA hypermethylation at regulatory cis-elements of particular genes is seen in a plethora of pathological conditions including cardiovascular, neurological, immunological, gastrointestinal and renal diseases, as well as in cancer, diabetes and others. Thus, approaches for experimental and therapeutic DNA demethylation have a great potential to demonstrate mechanistic importance, and even causality of epigenetic alterations, and may open novel avenues to epigenetic cures. However, existing methods based on DNA methyltransferase inhibitors that elicit genome-wide demethylation are not suitable for treatment of diseases with specific epimutations and provide a limited experimental value. Therefore, gene-specific epigenetic editing is a critical approach for epigenetic re-activation of silenced genes. Site-specific demethylation can be achieved by utilizing sequence-dependent DNA-binding molecules such as zinc finger protein array (ZFA), transcription activator-like effector (TALE) and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat-associated dead Cas9 (CRISPR/dCas9). Synthetic proteins, where these DNA-binding domains are fused with the DNA demethylases such as ten-eleven translocation (Tet) and thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG) enzymes, successfully induced or enhanced transcriptional responsiveness at targeted loci. However, a number of challenges, including the dependence on transgenesis for delivery of the fusion constructs, remain issues to be solved. In this review, we detail current and potential approaches to gene-specific DNA demethylation as a novel epigenetic editing-based therapeutic strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naohiro Yano
- Department of Surgery, Rhode Island Hospital, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, 593 Eddy Street, Providence, RI 02903, USA
| | - Alexey V Fedulov
- Department of Surgery, Rhode Island Hospital, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, 593 Eddy Street, Providence, RI 02903, USA
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12
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Zhang W, Young JI, Gomez L, Schmidt MA, Lukacsovich D, Varma A, Chen XS, Martin ER, Wang L. Distinct CSF biomarker-associated DNA methylation in Alzheimer's disease and cognitively normal subjects. Alzheimers Res Ther 2023; 15:78. [PMID: 37038196 PMCID: PMC10088180 DOI: 10.1186/s13195-023-01216-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 04/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Growing evidence has demonstrated that DNA methylation (DNAm) plays an important role in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and that DNAm differences can be detected in the blood of AD subjects. Most studies have correlated blood DNAm with the clinical diagnosis of AD in living individuals. However, as the pathophysiological process of AD can begin many years before the onset of clinical symptoms, there is often disagreement between neuropathology in the brain and clinical phenotypes. Therefore, blood DNAm associated with AD neuropathology, rather than with clinical data, would provide more relevant information on AD pathogenesis. METHODS We performed a comprehensive analysis to identify blood DNAm associated with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pathological biomarkers for AD. Our study included matched samples of whole blood DNA methylation, CSF Aβ42, phosphorylated tau181 (pTau181), and total tau (tTau) biomarkers data, measured on the same subjects and at the same clinical visits from a total of 202 subjects (123 CN or cognitively normal, 79 AD) in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) cohort. To validate our findings, we also examined the association between premortem blood DNAm and postmortem brain neuropathology measured on a group of 69 subjects in the London dataset. RESULTS We identified a number of novel associations between blood DNAm and CSF biomarkers, demonstrating that changes in pathological processes in the CSF are reflected in the blood epigenome. Overall, the CSF biomarker-associated DNAm is relatively distinct in CN and AD subjects, highlighting the importance of analyzing omics data measured on cognitively normal subjects (which includes preclinical AD subjects) to identify diagnostic biomarkers, and considering disease stages in the development and testing of AD treatment strategies. Moreover, our analysis revealed biological processes associated with early brain impairment relevant to AD are marked by DNAm in the blood, and blood DNAm at several CpGs in the DMR on HOXA5 gene are associated with pTau181 in the CSF, as well as tau-pathology and DNAm in the brain, nominating DNAm at this locus as a promising candidate AD biomarker. CONCLUSIONS Our study provides a valuable resource for future mechanistic and biomarker studies of DNAm in AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Zhang
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1120 NW 14Th Street, Miami, FL, 33136, USA
| | - Juan I Young
- Dr. John T Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, 33136, USA
- John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, 33136, USA
| | - Lissette Gomez
- John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, 33136, USA
| | - Michael A Schmidt
- John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, 33136, USA
| | - David Lukacsovich
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1120 NW 14Th Street, Miami, FL, 33136, USA
| | - Achintya Varma
- John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, 33136, USA
| | - X Steven Chen
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1120 NW 14Th Street, Miami, FL, 33136, USA
- Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, 33136, USA
| | - Eden R Martin
- Dr. John T Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, 33136, USA
- John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, 33136, USA
| | - Lily Wang
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1120 NW 14Th Street, Miami, FL, 33136, USA.
- Dr. John T Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, 33136, USA.
- John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, 33136, USA.
- Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, 33136, USA.
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13
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Garau J, Charras A, Varesio C, Orcesi S, Dragoni F, Galli J, Fazzi E, Gagliardi S, Pansarasa O, Cereda C, Hedrich CM. Altered DNA methylation and gene expression predict disease severity in patients with Aicardi-Goutières syndrome. Clin Immunol 2023; 249:109299. [PMID: 36963449 DOI: 10.1016/j.clim.2023.109299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Revised: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/26/2023]
Abstract
Aicardi-Goutières Syndrome (AGS) is a rare neuro-inflammatory disease characterized by increased expression of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs). Disease-causing mutations are present in genes associated with innate antiviral responses. Disease presentation and severity vary, even between patients with identical mutations from the same family. This study investigated DNA methylation signatures in PBMCs to understand phenotypic heterogeneity in AGS patients with mutations in RNASEH2B. AGS patients presented hypomethylation of ISGs and differential methylation patterns (DMPs) in genes involved in "neutrophil and platelet activation". Patients with "mild" phenotypes exhibited DMPs in genes involved in "DNA damage and repair", whereas patients with "severe" phenotypes had DMPs in "cell fate commitment" and "organ development" associated genes. DMPs in two ISGs (IFI44L, RSAD2) associated with increased gene expression in patients with "severe" when compared to "mild" phenotypes. In conclusion, altered DNA methylation and ISG expression as biomarkers and potential future treatment targets in AGS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Garau
- Neurogenetics Research Centre, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Amandine Charras
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Costanza Varesio
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy; Department of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Simona Orcesi
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy; Department of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Francesca Dragoni
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy; Molecular Biology and Transcriptomics, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Jessica Galli
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy; Unit of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, ASST Spedali Civili of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Elisa Fazzi
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy; Unit of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, ASST Spedali Civili of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Stella Gagliardi
- Molecular Biology and Transcriptomics, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Orietta Pansarasa
- Cellular Model and Neuroepigenetics, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Cristina Cereda
- Genomic and post-Genomic Center, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Christian M Hedrich
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom; Department of Paediatric Rheumatology, Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust Hospital, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
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14
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Zhang W, Young JI, Gomez L, Schmidt MA, Lukacsovich D, Varma A, Chen XS, Martin ER, Wang L. Distinct CSF biomarker-associated DNA methylation in Alzheimer's disease and cognitively normal subjects. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-2391364. [PMID: 36865230 PMCID: PMC9980279 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2391364/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/23/2023]
Abstract
Background Growing evidence has demonstrated that DNA methylation (DNAm) plays an important role in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and that DNAm differences can be detected in the blood of AD subjects. Most studies have correlated blood DNAm with the clinical diagnosis of AD in living individuals. However, as the pathophysiological process of AD can begin many years before the onset of clinical symptoms, there is often disagreement between neuropathology in the brain and clinical phenotypes. Therefore, blood DNAm associated with AD neuropathology, rather than with clinical data, would provide more relevant information on AD pathogenesis. Methods We performed a comprehensive analysis to identify blood DNAm associated with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pathological biomarkers for AD. Our study included matched samples of whole blood DNA methylation, CSF Aβ 42 , phosphorylated tau 181 (pTau 181 ), and total tau (tTau) biomarkers data, measured on the same subjects and at the same clinical visits from a total of 202 subjects (123 CN or cognitively normal, 79 AD) in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) cohort. To validate our findings, we also examined the association between premortem blood DNAm and postmortem brain neuropathology measured on a group of 69 subjects in the London dataset. Results We identified a number of novel associations between blood DNAm and CSF biomarkers, demonstrating that changes in pathological processes in the CSF are reflected in the blood epigenome. Overall, the CSF biomarker-associated DNAm is relatively distinct in CN and AD subjects, highlighting the importance of analyzing omics data measured on cognitively normal subjects (which includes preclinical AD subjects) to identify diagnostic biomarkers, and considering disease stages in the development and testing of AD treatment strategies. Moreover, our analysis revealed biological processes associated with early brain impairment relevant to AD are marked by DNAm in the blood, and blood DNAm at several CpGs in the DMR on HOXA5 gene are associated with pTau 181 in the CSF, as well as tau-pathology and DNAm in the brain, nominating DNAm at this locus as a promising candidate AD biomarker. Conclusions Our study provides a valuable resource for future mechanistic and biomarker studies of DNAm in AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Zhang
- University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine
| | - Juan I Young
- Dr. John T Macdonald Foundation, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine
| | | | - Michael A Schmidt
- Dr. John T Macdonald Foundation, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine
| | | | | | | | - Eden R Martin
- Dr. John T Macdonald Foundation, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine
| | - Lily Wang
- University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine
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15
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Gunasekara CJ, MacKay H, Scott CA, Li S, Laritsky E, Baker MS, Grimm SL, Jun G, Li Y, Chen R, Wiemels JL, Coarfa C, Waterland RA. Systemic interindividual epigenetic variation in humans is associated with transposable elements and under strong genetic control. Genome Biol 2023; 24:2. [PMID: 36631879 PMCID: PMC9835319 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-022-02827-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Genetic variants can modulate phenotypic outcomes via epigenetic intermediates, for example at methylation quantitative trait loci (mQTL). We present the first large-scale assessment of mQTL at human genomic regions selected for interindividual variation in CpG methylation, which we call correlated regions of systemic interindividual variation (CoRSIVs). These can be assayed in blood DNA and do not reflect interindividual variation in cellular composition. RESULTS We use target-capture bisulfite sequencing to assess DNA methylation at 4086 CoRSIVs in multiple tissues from each of 188 donors in the NIH Gene-Tissue Expression (GTEx) program. At CoRSIVs, DNA methylation in peripheral blood correlates with methylation and gene expression in internal organs. We also discover unprecedented mQTL at these regions. Genetic influences on CoRSIV methylation are extremely strong (median R2=0.76), cumulatively comprising over 70-fold more human mQTL than detected in the most powerful previous study. Moreover, mQTL beta coefficients at CoRSIVs are highly skewed (i.e., the major allele predicts higher methylation). Both surprising findings are independently validated in a cohort of 47 non-GTEx individuals. Genomic regions flanking CoRSIVs show long-range enrichments for LINE-1 and LTR transposable elements; the skewed beta coefficients may therefore reflect evolutionary selection of genetic variants that promote their methylation and silencing. Analyses of GWAS summary statistics show that mQTL polymorphisms at CoRSIVs are associated with metabolic and other classes of disease. CONCLUSIONS A focus on systemic interindividual epigenetic variants, clearly enhanced in mQTL content, should likewise benefit studies attempting to link human epigenetic variation to the risk of disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chathura J. Gunasekara
- grid.508989.50000 0004 6410 7501USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX USA
| | - Harry MacKay
- grid.508989.50000 0004 6410 7501USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX USA
| | - C. Anthony Scott
- grid.508989.50000 0004 6410 7501USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX USA
| | - Shaobo Li
- grid.42505.360000 0001 2156 6853Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA USA
| | - Eleonora Laritsky
- grid.508989.50000 0004 6410 7501USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX USA
| | - Maria S. Baker
- grid.508989.50000 0004 6410 7501USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX USA
| | - Sandra L. Grimm
- grid.39382.330000 0001 2160 926XDepartment of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX USA
| | - Goo Jun
- grid.267308.80000 0000 9206 2401Human Genetics Center, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX USA
| | - Yumei Li
- grid.39382.330000 0001 2160 926XDepartment of Molecular & Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX USA
| | - Rui Chen
- grid.39382.330000 0001 2160 926XDepartment of Molecular & Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX USA
| | - Joseph L. Wiemels
- grid.42505.360000 0001 2156 6853Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA USA
| | - Cristian Coarfa
- grid.39382.330000 0001 2160 926XDepartment of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX USA ,grid.39382.330000 0001 2160 926XDan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX USA
| | - Robert A. Waterland
- grid.508989.50000 0004 6410 7501USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX USA ,grid.39382.330000 0001 2160 926XDepartment of Molecular & Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX USA
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16
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Schäfer Hackenhaar F, Josefsson M, Nordin Adolfsson A, Landfors M, Kauppi K, Porter T, Milicic L, Laws SM, Hultdin M, Adolfsson R, Degerman S, Pudas S. Sixteen-Year Longitudinal Evaluation of Blood-Based DNA Methylation Biomarkers for Early Prediction of Alzheimer's Disease. J Alzheimers Dis 2023; 94:1443-1464. [PMID: 37393498 PMCID: PMC10473121 DOI: 10.3233/jad-230039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 07/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND DNA methylation (DNAm), an epigenetic mark reflecting both inherited and environmental influences, has shown promise for Alzheimer's disease (AD) prediction. OBJECTIVE Testing long-term predictive ability (>15 years) of existing DNAm-based epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) measures and identifying novel early blood-based DNAm AD-prediction biomarkers. METHODS EAA measures calculated from Illumina EPIC data from blood were tested with linear mixed-effects models (LMMs) in a longitudinal case-control sample (50 late-onset AD cases; 51 matched controls) with prospective data up to 16 years before clinical onset, and post-onset follow-up. Novel DNAm biomarkers were generated with epigenome-wide LMMs, and Sparse Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis applied at pre- (10-16 years), and post-AD-onset time-points. RESULTS EAA did not differentiate cases from controls during the follow-up time (p > 0.05). Three new DNA biomarkers showed in-sample predictive ability on average 8 years pre-onset, after adjustment for age, sex, and white blood cell proportions (p-values: 0.022-<0.00001). Our longitudinally-derived panel replicated nominally (p = 0.012) in an external cohort (n = 146 cases, 324 controls). However, its effect size and discriminatory accuracy were limited compared to APOEɛ4-carriership (OR = 1.38 per 1 SD DNAm score increase versus OR = 13.58 for ɛ4-allele carriage; AUCs = 77.2% versus 87.0%). Literature review showed low overlap (n = 4) across 3275 AD-associated CpGs from 8 published studies, and no overlap with our identified CpGs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernanda Schäfer Hackenhaar
- Department of Integrative Medical Biology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Umeå Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Maria Josefsson
- Umeå Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Department of Statistics, USBE, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Center for Ageing and Demographic Research, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | | | - Mattias Landfors
- Department of Medical Biosciences, Pathology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Karolina Kauppi
- Department of Integrative Medical Biology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Tenielle Porter
- Centre for Precision Health, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia
- Collaborative Genomics and Translation Group, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia
- Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia
| | - Lidija Milicic
- Centre for Precision Health, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia
- Collaborative Genomics and Translation Group, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia
| | - Simon M. Laws
- Centre for Precision Health, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia
- Collaborative Genomics and Translation Group, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia
- Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia
| | - Magnus Hultdin
- Department of Medical Biosciences, Pathology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Rolf Adolfsson
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Sofie Degerman
- Department of Medical Biosciences, Pathology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Sara Pudas
- Department of Integrative Medical Biology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Umeå Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
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17
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Shireby G, Dempster EL, Policicchio S, Smith RG, Pishva E, Chioza B, Davies JP, Burrage J, Lunnon K, Seiler Vellame D, Love S, Thomas A, Brookes K, Morgan K, Francis P, Hannon E, Mill J. DNA methylation signatures of Alzheimer's disease neuropathology in the cortex are primarily driven by variation in non-neuronal cell-types. Nat Commun 2022; 13:5620. [PMID: 36153390 PMCID: PMC9509387 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33394-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease characterized by the progressive accumulation of amyloid-beta and neurofibrillary tangles of tau in the neocortex. We profiled DNA methylation in two regions of the cortex from 631 donors, performing an epigenome-wide association study of multiple measures of AD neuropathology. We meta-analyzed our results with those from previous studies of DNA methylation in AD cortex (total n = 2013 donors), identifying 334 cortical differentially methylated positions (DMPs) associated with AD pathology including methylomic variation at loci not previously implicated in dementia. We subsequently profiled DNA methylation in NeuN+ (neuronal-enriched), SOX10+ (oligodendrocyte-enriched) and NeuN-/SOX10- (microglia- and astrocyte-enriched) nuclei, finding that the majority of DMPs identified in 'bulk' cortex tissue reflect DNA methylation differences occurring in non-neuronal cells. Our study highlights the power of utilizing multiple measures of neuropathology to identify epigenetic signatures of AD and the importance of characterizing disease-associated variation in purified cell-types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gemma Shireby
- Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Emma L Dempster
- Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Stefania Policicchio
- Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Rebecca G Smith
- Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Ehsan Pishva
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNS), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Barry Chioza
- Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Jonathan P Davies
- Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Joe Burrage
- Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Katie Lunnon
- Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Dorothea Seiler Vellame
- Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Seth Love
- Dementia Research Group, University of Bristol Medical School (Translational Health Sciences), Bristol, UK
| | - Alan Thomas
- Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
| | - Keeley Brookes
- Biosciences, School of Science & Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
| | - Kevin Morgan
- Human Genetics, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Paul Francis
- Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
- Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Eilis Hannon
- Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Jonathan Mill
- Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
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18
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C. Silva T, Zhang W, Young JI, Gomez L, Schmidt MA, Varma A, Chen XS, Martin ER, Wang L. Distinct sex-specific DNA methylation differences in Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimers Res Ther 2022; 14:133. [PMID: 36109771 PMCID: PMC9479371 DOI: 10.1186/s13195-022-01070-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sex is increasingly recognized as a significant factor contributing to the biological and clinical heterogeneity in AD. There is also growing evidence for the prominent role of DNA methylation (DNAm) in Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHODS We studied sex-specific DNA methylation differences in the blood samples of AD subjects compared to cognitively normal subjects, by performing sex-specific meta-analyses of two large blood-based epigenome-wide association studies (ADNI and AIBL), which included DNA methylation data for a total of 1284 whole blood samples (632 females and 652 males). Within each dataset, we used two complementary analytical strategies, a sex-stratified analysis that examined methylation to AD associations in male and female samples separately, and a methylation-by-sex interaction analysis that compared the magnitude of these associations between different sexes. After adjusting for age, estimated immune cell type proportions, batch effects, and correcting for inflation, the inverse-variance fixed-effects meta-analysis model was used to identify the most consistent DNAm differences across datasets. In addition, we also evaluated the performance of the sex-specific methylation-based risk prediction models for AD diagnosis using an independent external dataset. RESULTS In the sex-stratified analysis, we identified 2 CpGs, mapped to the PRRC2A and RPS8 genes, significantly associated with AD in females at a 5% false discovery rate, and an additional 25 significant CpGs (21 in females, 4 in males) at P-value < 1×10-5. In methylation-by-sex interaction analysis, we identified 5 significant CpGs at P-value < 10-5. Out-of-sample validations using the AddNeuroMed dataset showed in females, the best logistic prediction model included age, estimated immune cell-type proportions, and methylation risk scores (MRS) computed from 9 of the 23 CpGs identified in AD vs. CN analysis that are also available in AddNeuroMed dataset (AUC = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.65-0.83). In males, the best logistic prediction model included only age and MRS computed from 2 of the 5 CpGs identified in methylation-by-sex interaction analysis that are also available in the AddNeuroMed dataset (AUC = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.56-0.82). CONCLUSIONS Overall, our results show that the DNA methylation differences in AD are largely distinct between males and females. Our best-performing sex-specific methylation-based prediction model in females performed better than that for males and additionally included estimated cell-type proportions. The significant discriminatory classification of AD samples with our methylation-based prediction models demonstrates that sex-specific DNA methylation could be a predictive biomarker for AD. As sex is a strong factor underlying phenotypic variability in AD, the results of our study are particularly relevant for a better understanding of the epigenetic architecture that underlie AD and for promoting precision medicine in AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiago C. Silva
- grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, 1120 NW 14th Street, Miami, FL 33136 USA
| | - Wei Zhang
- grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, 1120 NW 14th Street, Miami, FL 33136 USA
| | - Juan I. Young
- grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606Dr. John T Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA ,grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA
| | - Lissette Gomez
- grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA
| | - Michael A. Schmidt
- grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606Dr. John T Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA ,grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA
| | - Achintya Varma
- grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA
| | - X. Steven Chen
- grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, 1120 NW 14th Street, Miami, FL 33136 USA ,grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA
| | - Eden R. Martin
- grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606Dr. John T Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA ,grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA
| | - Lily Wang
- grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, 1120 NW 14th Street, Miami, FL 33136 USA ,grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606Dr. John T Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA ,grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA ,grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA
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19
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C. Silva T, Young JI, Zhang L, Gomez L, Schmidt MA, Varma A, Chen XS, Martin ER, Wang L. Cross-tissue analysis of blood and brain epigenome-wide association studies in Alzheimer's disease. Nat Commun 2022; 13:4852. [PMID: 35982059 PMCID: PMC9388493 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32475-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
To better understand DNA methylation in Alzheimer's disease (AD) from both mechanistic and biomarker perspectives, we performed an epigenome-wide meta-analysis of blood DNA methylation in two large independent blood-based studies in AD, the ADNI and AIBL studies, and identified 5 CpGs, mapped to the SPIDR, CDH6 genes, and intergenic regions, that are significantly associated with AD diagnosis. A cross-tissue analysis that combined these blood DNA methylation datasets with four brain methylation datasets prioritized 97 CpGs and 10 genomic regions that are significantly associated with both AD neuropathology and AD diagnosis. An out-of-sample validation using the AddNeuroMed dataset showed the best performing logistic regression model includes age, sex, immune cell type proportions, and methylation risk score based on prioritized CpGs in cross-tissue analysis (AUC = 0.696, 95% CI: 0.616 - 0.770, P-value = 2.78 × 10-5). Our study offers new insights into epigenetics in AD and provides a valuable resource for future AD biomarker discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiago C. Silva
- grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA
| | - Juan I. Young
- grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606Dr. John T Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA ,grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA
| | - Lanyu Zhang
- grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA
| | - Lissette Gomez
- grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA
| | - Michael A. Schmidt
- grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA
| | - Achintya Varma
- grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA
| | - X. Steven Chen
- grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA ,grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA
| | - Eden R. Martin
- grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606Dr. John T Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA ,grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA
| | - Lily Wang
- grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA ,grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606Dr. John T Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA ,grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA ,grid.26790.3a0000 0004 1936 8606Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136 USA
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20
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Villa C, Stoccoro A. Epigenetic Peripheral Biomarkers for Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:genes13081308. [PMID: 35893045 PMCID: PMC9332601 DOI: 10.3390/genes13081308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Revised: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder and represents the leading cause of cognitive impairment and dementia in older individuals throughout the world. The main hallmarks of AD include brain atrophy, extracellular deposition of insoluble amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques, and the intracellular aggregation of protein tau in neurofibrillary tangles. These pathological modifications start many years prior to clinical manifestations of disease and the spectrum of AD progresses along a continuum from preclinical to clinical phases. Therefore, identifying specific biomarkers for detecting AD at early stages greatly improves clinical management. However, stable and non-invasive biomarkers are not currently available for the early detection of the disease. In the search for more reliable biomarkers, epigenetic mechanisms, able to mediate the interaction between the genome and the environment, are emerging as important players in AD pathogenesis. Herein, we discuss altered epigenetic signatures in blood as potential peripheral biomarkers for the early detection of AD in order to help diagnosis and improve therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Villa
- School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20900 Monza, Italy
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-02-6448-8138
| | - Andrea Stoccoro
- Department of Translational Research and of New Surgical and Medical Technologies, Medical School, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy;
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21
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Stoccoro A, Baldacci F, Ceravolo R, Giampietri L, Tognoni G, Siciliano G, Migliore L, Coppedè F. Increase in Mitochondrial D-Loop Region Methylation Levels in Mild Cognitive Impairment Individuals. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23105393. [PMID: 35628202 PMCID: PMC9142993 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23105393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Revised: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Methylation levels of the mitochondrial displacement loop (D-loop) region have been reported to be altered in the brain and blood of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients. Moreover, a dynamic D-loop methylation pattern was observed in the brain of transgenic AD mice along with disease progression. However, investigations on the blood cells of AD patients in the prodromal phases of the disease have not been performed so far. The aim of this study was to analyze D-loop methylation levels by means of the MS-HRM technique in the peripheral blood cells of 14 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients, 18 early stage AD patients, 70 advanced stage AD patients, and 105 healthy control subjects. We found higher D-loop methylation levels in MCI patients than in control subjects and AD patients. Moreover, higher D-loop methylation levels were observed in control subjects than in AD patients in advanced stages of the disease, but not in those at early stages. The present pilot study shows that peripheral D-loop methylation levels differ in patients at different stages of AD pathology, suggesting that further studies deserve to be performed in order to validate the usefulness of D-loop methylation analysis as a peripheral biomarker for the early detection of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Stoccoro
- Department of Translational Research and of New Surgical and Medical Technologies, University of Pisa, Via Roma 55, 56126 Pisa, Italy;
- Correspondence: (A.S.); (F.C.); Tel.: +39-0502-218549 (A.S.); +39-0502-218544 (F.C.)
| | - Filippo Baldacci
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (F.B.); (R.C.); (L.G.); (G.T.); (G.S.)
| | - Roberto Ceravolo
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (F.B.); (R.C.); (L.G.); (G.T.); (G.S.)
| | - Linda Giampietri
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (F.B.); (R.C.); (L.G.); (G.T.); (G.S.)
| | - Gloria Tognoni
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (F.B.); (R.C.); (L.G.); (G.T.); (G.S.)
| | - Gabriele Siciliano
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (F.B.); (R.C.); (L.G.); (G.T.); (G.S.)
| | - Lucia Migliore
- Department of Translational Research and of New Surgical and Medical Technologies, University of Pisa, Via Roma 55, 56126 Pisa, Italy;
| | - Fabio Coppedè
- Department of Translational Research and of New Surgical and Medical Technologies, University of Pisa, Via Roma 55, 56126 Pisa, Italy;
- Correspondence: (A.S.); (F.C.); Tel.: +39-0502-218549 (A.S.); +39-0502-218544 (F.C.)
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22
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Guemri J, Pierre-Jean M, Brohard S, Oussada N, Horgues C, Bonnet E, Mauger F, Deleuze JF. Methylated ccfDNA from plasma biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease using targeted bisulfite sequencing. Epigenomics 2022; 14:451-468. [PMID: 35416052 DOI: 10.2217/epi-2021-0491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Aim: Noninvasive biomarkers such as methylated ccfDNA from plasma could help to support the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods: A targeted sequencing protocol was developed to identify candidate biomarkers of AD in methylated ccfDNA extracted from plasma. Results: The authors identified differentially methylated CpGs, regions of which were the same as those identified in previous AD studies. Specifically, a differentially methylated CpG of the LHX2 gene previously identified in a plasma study of AD was replicated in the study. The MBP and DUSP22 regions have been identified in other brain studies of AD and in the authors' study. Conclusion: Although these biomarkers must be validated in other cohorts, methylated ccfDNA could be a relevant noninvasive biomarker in AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Guemri
- Université Paris-Saclay, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives, Centre National de Recherche en Génomique Humaine, Evry, 91057, France
| | - Morgane Pierre-Jean
- Université Paris-Saclay, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives, Centre National de Recherche en Génomique Humaine, Evry, 91057, France
| | - Solène Brohard
- Université Paris-Saclay, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives, Centre National de Recherche en Génomique Humaine, Evry, 91057, France
| | - Nouara Oussada
- Université Paris-Saclay, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives, Centre National de Recherche en Génomique Humaine, Evry, 91057, France
| | - Caroline Horgues
- Université Paris-Saclay, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives, Centre National de Recherche en Génomique Humaine, Evry, 91057, France
| | - Eric Bonnet
- Université Paris-Saclay, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives, Centre National de Recherche en Génomique Humaine, Evry, 91057, France
| | - Florence Mauger
- Université Paris-Saclay, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives, Centre National de Recherche en Génomique Humaine, Evry, 91057, France
| | - Jean-François Deleuze
- Université Paris-Saclay, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives, Centre National de Recherche en Génomique Humaine, Evry, 91057, France
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23
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Pérez RF, Alba-Linares JJ, Tejedor JR, Fernández AF, Calero M, Román-Domínguez A, Borrás C, Viña J, Ávila J, Medina M, Fraga MF. Blood DNA methylation patterns in older adults with evolving dementia. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2022; 77:1743-1749. [PMID: 35299244 PMCID: PMC9434456 DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glac068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Dementia and cognitive disorders are major aging-associated pathologies. The prevalence and severity of these conditions are influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Reflecting this, epigenetic alterations have been associated with each of these processes, especially at the level of DNA methylation, and such changes may help explain the observed interindividual variability in the development of the 2 pathologies. However, the importance of epigenetic alterations in explaining their etiology is unclear because little is known about the timing of when they appear. Here, using Illumina MethylationEPIC arrays, we have longitudinally analyzed the peripheral blood methylomes of cognitively healthy older adults (>70 year), some of whom went on to develop dementia while others stayed healthy. We have characterized 34 individuals at the prediagnosis stage and at a 4-year follow-up in the postdiagnosis stage (total n = 68). Our results show multiple DNA methylation alterations linked to dementia status, particularly at the level of differentially methylated regions. These loci are associated with several dementia-related genes, including PON1, AP2A2, MAGI2, POT1, ITGAX, PACSIN1, SLC2A8, and EIF4E. We also provide validation of the previously reported epigenetic alteration of HOXB6 and PM20D1. Importantly, we show that most of these regions are already altered in the prediagnosis stage of individuals who go on to develop dementia. In conclusion, our observations suggest that dementia-associated epigenetic patterns that have specific biological features are already present before diagnosis, and thus may be important in the design of epigenetic biomarkers for disease detection based on peripheral tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raúl Fernández Pérez
- Cancer Epigenetics and Nanomedicine Laboratory. Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology Research Center (CINN-CSIC). Health Research Institute of Asturias (ISPA-FINBA). Institute of Oncology of Asturias (IUOPA) and Department of Organisms and Systems Biology (B.O.S.), University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain. Rare Diseases CIBER (CIBERER) of the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII)
| | - Juan José Alba-Linares
- Cancer Epigenetics and Nanomedicine Laboratory. Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology Research Center (CINN-CSIC). Health Research Institute of Asturias (ISPA-FINBA). Institute of Oncology of Asturias (IUOPA) and Department of Organisms and Systems Biology (B.O.S.), University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain. Rare Diseases CIBER (CIBERER) of the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII)
| | - Juan Ramón Tejedor
- Cancer Epigenetics and Nanomedicine Laboratory. Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology Research Center (CINN-CSIC). Health Research Institute of Asturias (ISPA-FINBA). Institute of Oncology of Asturias (IUOPA) and Department of Organisms and Systems Biology (B.O.S.), University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain. Rare Diseases CIBER (CIBERER) of the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII)
| | - Agustín Fernández Fernández
- Cancer Epigenetics and Nanomedicine Laboratory. Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology Research Center (CINN-CSIC). Health Research Institute of Asturias (ISPA-FINBA). Institute of Oncology of Asturias (IUOPA) and Department of Organisms and Systems Biology (B.O.S.), University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain. Rare Diseases CIBER (CIBERER) of the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII)
| | - Miguel Calero
- Network Center for Biomedical Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), Madrid, Spain.,Chronic Disease Programme (UFIEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.,CIEN Foundation, Queen Sofia Foundation Alzheimer Center, Madrid, Spain
| | - Aurora Román-Domínguez
- Freshage Research Group, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Valencia and CIBERFES-ISCIII, Fundación Investigación Hospital Clínico Universitario/INCLIVA, Valencia, Spain
| | - Consuelo Borrás
- Freshage Research Group, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Valencia and CIBERFES-ISCIII, Fundación Investigación Hospital Clínico Universitario/INCLIVA, Valencia, Spain
| | - José Viña
- Freshage Research Group, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Valencia and CIBERFES-ISCIII, Fundación Investigación Hospital Clínico Universitario/INCLIVA, Valencia, Spain
| | - Jesús Ávila
- Network Center for Biomedical Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), Madrid, Spain.,Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CBMSO) CSIC-UAM, Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel Medina
- Network Center for Biomedical Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), Madrid, Spain.,CIEN Foundation, Queen Sofia Foundation Alzheimer Center, Madrid, Spain
| | - Mario Fernández Fraga
- Cancer Epigenetics and Nanomedicine Laboratory. Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology Research Center (CINN-CSIC). Health Research Institute of Asturias (ISPA-FINBA). Institute of Oncology of Asturias (IUOPA) and Department of Organisms and Systems Biology (B.O.S.), University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain. Rare Diseases CIBER (CIBERER) of the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII)
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24
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McCartney DL, Hillary RF, Conole ELS, Banos DT, Gadd DA, Walker RM, Nangle C, Flaig R, Campbell A, Murray AD, Maniega SM, Valdés-Hernández MDC, Harris MA, Bastin ME, Wardlaw JM, Harris SE, Porteous DJ, Tucker-Drob EM, McIntosh AM, Evans KL, Deary IJ, Cox SR, Robinson MR, Marioni RE. Blood-based epigenome-wide analyses of cognitive abilities. Genome Biol 2022; 23:26. [PMID: 35039062 PMCID: PMC8762878 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-021-02596-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 12/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Blood-based markers of cognitive functioning might provide an accessible way to track neurodegeneration years prior to clinical manifestation of cognitive impairment and dementia. RESULTS Using blood-based epigenome-wide analyses of general cognitive function, we show that individual differences in DNA methylation (DNAm) explain 35.0% of the variance in general cognitive function (g). A DNAm predictor explains ~4% of the variance, independently of a polygenic score, in two external cohorts. It also associates with circulating levels of neurology- and inflammation-related proteins, global brain imaging metrics, and regional cortical volumes. CONCLUSIONS As sample sizes increase, the ability to assess cognitive function from DNAm data may be informative in settings where cognitive testing is unreliable or unavailable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel L. McCartney
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU UK
| | - Robert F. Hillary
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU UK
| | - Eleanor L. S. Conole
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ UK
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Edinburgh, Chancellor’s Building, 49 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh BioQuarter, Edinburgh, EH16 4SB UK
| | - Daniel Trejo Banos
- Department of Quantitative Biomedicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Biomedical Informatics, University Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Danni A. Gadd
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU UK
| | - Rosie M. Walker
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU UK
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Edinburgh, Chancellor’s Building, 49 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh BioQuarter, Edinburgh, EH16 4SB UK
| | - Cliff Nangle
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU UK
| | - Robin Flaig
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU UK
| | - Archie Campbell
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU UK
| | - Alison D. Murray
- Aberdeen Biomedical Imaging Centre, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
| | - Susana Muñoz Maniega
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ UK
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Edinburgh, Chancellor’s Building, 49 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh BioQuarter, Edinburgh, EH16 4SB UK
| | - María del C. Valdés-Hernández
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ UK
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Edinburgh, Chancellor’s Building, 49 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh BioQuarter, Edinburgh, EH16 4SB UK
| | - Mathew A. Harris
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ UK
| | - Mark E. Bastin
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ UK
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Edinburgh, Chancellor’s Building, 49 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh BioQuarter, Edinburgh, EH16 4SB UK
| | - Joanna M. Wardlaw
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ UK
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Edinburgh, Chancellor’s Building, 49 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh BioQuarter, Edinburgh, EH16 4SB UK
| | - Sarah E. Harris
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ UK
| | - David J. Porteous
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU UK
| | - Elliot M. Tucker-Drob
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas, Austin, TX USA
- Population Research Center and Center on Aging and Population Sciences, University of Texas, Austin, TX USA
| | - Andrew M. McIntosh
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU UK
- Division of Psychiatry, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Kathryn L. Evans
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU UK
| | - Ian J. Deary
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ UK
| | - Simon R. Cox
- Lothian Birth Cohorts, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ UK
| | | | - Riccardo E. Marioni
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU UK
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25
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Rabaneda-Bueno R, Mena-Montes B, Torres-Castro S, Torres-Carrillo N, Torres-Carrillo NM. Advances in Genetics and Epigenetic Alterations in Alzheimer's Disease: A Notion for Therapeutic Treatment. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:1959. [PMID: 34946908 PMCID: PMC8700838 DOI: 10.3390/genes12121959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Revised: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a disabling neurodegenerative disorder that leads to long-term functional and cognitive impairment and greatly reduces life expectancy. Early genetic studies focused on tracking variations in genome-wide DNA sequences discovered several polymorphisms and novel susceptibility genes associated with AD. However, despite the numerous risk factors already identified, there is still no fully satisfactory explanation for the mechanisms underlying the onset of the disease. Also, as with other complex human diseases, the causes of low heritability are unclear. Epigenetic mechanisms, in which changes in gene expression do not depend on changes in genotype, have attracted considerable attention in recent years and are key to understanding the processes that influence age-related changes and various neurological diseases. With the recent use of massive sequencing techniques, methods for studying epigenome variations in AD have also evolved tremendously, allowing the discovery of differentially expressed disease traits under different conditions and experimental settings. This is important for understanding disease development and for unlocking new potential AD therapies. In this work, we outline the genomic and epigenomic components involved in the initiation and development of AD and identify potentially effective therapeutic targets for disease control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rubén Rabaneda-Bueno
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, 37005 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- School of Biological Sciences, James Clerk Maxwell Building, The King’s Buildings Campus, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FD, UK
| | - Beatriz Mena-Montes
- Laboratorio de Biología del Envejecimiento, Departamento de Investigación Básica, Instituto Nacional de Geriatría, Mexico City 10200, Mexico;
| | - Sara Torres-Castro
- Departamento de Epidemiología Demográfica y Determinantes Sociales, Instituto Nacional de Geriatría, Mexico City 10200, Mexico;
| | - Norma Torres-Carrillo
- Departamento de Microbiología y Patología, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44340, Jalisco, Mexico; (N.T.-C.); (N.M.T.-C.)
| | - Nora Magdalena Torres-Carrillo
- Departamento de Microbiología y Patología, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44340, Jalisco, Mexico; (N.T.-C.); (N.M.T.-C.)
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26
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Li QS, Vasanthakumar A, Davis JW, Idler KB, Nho K, Waring JF, Saykin AJ. Association of peripheral blood DNA methylation level with Alzheimer's disease progression. Clin Epigenetics 2021; 13:191. [PMID: 34654479 PMCID: PMC8518178 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-021-01179-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Identifying biomarkers associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) progression may enable patient enrichment and improve clinical trial designs. Epigenome-wide association studies have revealed correlations between DNA methylation at cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) sites and AD pathology and diagnosis. Here, we report relationships between peripheral blood DNA methylation profiles measured using Infinium® MethylationEPIC BeadChip and AD progression in participants from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) cohort. Results The rate of cognitive decline from initial DNA sampling visit to subsequent visits was estimated by the slopes of the modified Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite (mPACC; mPACCdigit and mPACCtrailsB) and Clinical Dementia Rating Scale Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) plots using robust linear regression in cognitively normal (CN) participants and patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), respectively. In addition, diagnosis conversion status was assessed using a dichotomized endpoint. Two CpG sites were significantly associated with the slope of mPACC in CN participants (P < 5.79 × 10−8 [Bonferroni correction threshold]); cg00386386 was associated with the slope of mPACCdigit, and cg09422696 annotated to RP11-661A12.5 was associated with the slope of CDR-SB. No significant CpG sites associated with diagnosis conversion status were identified. Genes involved in cognition and learning were enriched. A total of 19, 13, and 5 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) associated with the slopes of mPACCtrailsB, mPACCdigit, and CDR-SB, respectively, were identified by both comb-p and DMRcate algorithms; these included DMRs annotated to HOXA4. Furthermore, 5 and 19 DMRs were associated with conversion status in CN and MCI participants, respectively. The most significant DMR was annotated to the AD-associated gene PM20D1 (chr1: 205,818,956 to 205,820,014 [13 probes], Sidak-corrected P = 7.74 × 10−24), which was associated with both the slope of CDR-SB and the MCI conversion status. Conclusion Candidate CpG sites and regions in peripheral blood were identified as associated with the rate of cognitive decline in participants in the ADNI cohort. While we did not identify a single CpG site with sufficient clinical utility to be used by itself due to the observed effect size, a biosignature composed of DNA methylation changes may have utility as a prognostic biomarker for AD progression. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13148-021-01179-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingqin S Li
- Neuroscience, Janssen Research and Development, LLC, 1125 Trenton-Harbourton Road, Titusville, NJ, 08560, USA.
| | | | - Justin W Davis
- Genomics Research Center, AbbVie, North Chicago, IL, USA
| | | | - Kwangsik Nho
- Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | | | - Andrew J Saykin
- Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
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27
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Wei S, Tao J, Xu J, Chen X, Wang Z, Zhang N, Zuo L, Jia Z, Chen H, Sun H, Yan Y, Zhang M, Lv H, Kong F, Duan L, Ma Y, Liao M, Xu L, Feng R, Liu G, Project TEWAS, Jiang Y. Ten Years of EWAS. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2021; 8:e2100727. [PMID: 34382344 PMCID: PMC8529436 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202100727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2021] [Revised: 05/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) has been applied to analyze DNA methylation variation in complex diseases for a decade, and epigenome as a research target has gradually become a hot topic of current studies. The DNA methylation microarrays, next-generation, and third-generation sequencing technologies have prepared a high-quality platform for EWAS. Here, the progress of EWAS research is reviewed, its contributions to clinical applications, and mainly describe the achievements of four typical diseases. Finally, the challenges encountered by EWAS and make bold predictions for its future development are presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyu Wei
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
- The EWAS ProjectHarbinChina
| | - Junxian Tao
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
- The EWAS ProjectHarbinChina
| | - Jing Xu
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
- The EWAS ProjectHarbinChina
| | - Xingyu Chen
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
| | - Zhaoyang Wang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
| | - Nan Zhang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
| | - Lijiao Zuo
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
| | - Zhe Jia
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
| | - Haiyan Chen
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
| | - Hongmei Sun
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
| | - Yubo Yan
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
| | - Mingming Zhang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
| | - Hongchao Lv
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
| | - Fanwu Kong
- The EWAS ProjectHarbinChina
- Department of NephrologyThe Second Affiliated HospitalHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150001China
| | - Lian Duan
- The EWAS ProjectHarbinChina
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical UniversityWenzhou325000China
| | - Ye Ma
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
- The EWAS ProjectHarbinChina
| | - Mingzhi Liao
- The EWAS ProjectHarbinChina
- College of Life SciencesNorthwest A&F UniversityYanglingShanxi712100China
| | - Liangde Xu
- The EWAS ProjectHarbinChina
- School of Biomedical EngineeringWenzhou Medical UniversityWenzhou325035China
| | - Rennan Feng
- The EWAS ProjectHarbinChina
- Department of Nutrition and Food HygienePublic Health CollegeHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
| | - Guiyou Liu
- The EWAS ProjectHarbinChina
- Beijing Institute for Brain DisordersCapital Medical UniversityBeijing100069China
| | | | - Yongshuai Jiang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and TechnologyHarbin Medical UniversityHarbin150081China
- The EWAS ProjectHarbinChina
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28
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Coppedè F. One-carbon epigenetics and redox biology of neurodegeneration. Free Radic Biol Med 2021; 170:19-33. [PMID: 33307166 DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2020.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Revised: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 12/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
One-carbon metabolism provides the methyl groups for both DNA and histone tail methylation reactions, two of the main epigenetic processes that tightly regulate the chromatin structure and gene expression levels. Several enzymes involved in one-carbon metabolism, as well as several epigenetic enzymes, are regulated by intracellular metabolites and redox cofactors, but their expression levels are in turn regulated by epigenetic modifications, in such a way that metabolism and gene expression reciprocally regulate each other to maintain homeostasis and regulate cell growth, survival, differentiation and response to environmental stimuli. Increasing evidence highlights the contribution of impaired one-carbon metabolism and epigenetic modifications in neurodegeneration. This article provides an overview of DNA and histone tail methylation changes in major neurodegenerative disorders, namely Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, discussing the contribution of oxidative stress and impaired one-carbon and redox metabolism to their onset and progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Coppedè
- Department of Translational Research and of New Surgical and Medical Technologies, University of Pisa, Via Roma 55, 56126, Pisa, Italy.
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Smith RG, Pishva E, Shireby G, Smith AR, Roubroeks JAY, Hannon E, Wheildon G, Mastroeni D, Gasparoni G, Riemenschneider M, Giese A, Sharp AJ, Schalkwyk L, Haroutunian V, Viechtbauer W, van den Hove DLA, Weedon M, Brokaw D, Francis PT, Thomas AJ, Love S, Morgan K, Walter J, Coleman PD, Bennett DA, De Jager PL, Mill J, Lunnon K. A meta-analysis of epigenome-wide association studies in Alzheimer's disease highlights novel differentially methylated loci across cortex. Nat Commun 2021; 12:3517. [PMID: 34112773 PMCID: PMC8192929 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23243-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Epigenome-wide association studies of Alzheimer's disease have highlighted neuropathology-associated DNA methylation differences, although existing studies have been limited in sample size and utilized different brain regions. Here, we combine data from six DNA methylomic studies of Alzheimer's disease (N = 1453 unique individuals) to identify differential methylation associated with Braak stage in different brain regions and across cortex. We identify 236 CpGs in the prefrontal cortex, 95 CpGs in the temporal gyrus and ten CpGs in the entorhinal cortex at Bonferroni significance, with none in the cerebellum. Our cross-cortex meta-analysis (N = 1408 donors) identifies 220 CpGs associated with neuropathology, annotated to 121 genes, of which 84 genes have not been previously reported at this significance threshold. We have replicated our findings using two further DNA methylomic datasets consisting of a further >600 unique donors. The meta-analysis summary statistics are available in our online data resource ( www.epigenomicslab.com/ad-meta-analysis/ ).
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca G Smith
- University of Exeter Medical School, College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Ehsan Pishva
- University of Exeter Medical School, College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNS), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Gemma Shireby
- University of Exeter Medical School, College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Adam R Smith
- University of Exeter Medical School, College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Janou A Y Roubroeks
- University of Exeter Medical School, College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNS), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Eilis Hannon
- University of Exeter Medical School, College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Gregory Wheildon
- University of Exeter Medical School, College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Diego Mastroeni
- Banner ASU Neurodegenerative Research Center, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Gilles Gasparoni
- Department of Genetics, University of Saarland (UdS), Saarbruecken, Germany
| | - Matthias Riemenschneider
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Saarland University Hospital (UKS), Homburg, Germany
| | - Armin Giese
- Center for Neuropathology and Prion Research, Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU), Munich, Germany
| | - Andrew J Sharp
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Vahram Haroutunian
- Department of Psychiatry, The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- JJ Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Wolfgang Viechtbauer
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNS), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Daniel L A van den Hove
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNS), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Laboratory of Translational Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Wuerzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Michael Weedon
- University of Exeter Medical School, College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Danielle Brokaw
- Banner ASU Neurodegenerative Research Center, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Paul T Francis
- University of Exeter Medical School, College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Alan J Thomas
- Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
| | - Seth Love
- Dementia Research Group, Institute of Clinical Neurosciences, School of Clinical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Kevin Morgan
- Human Genetics Group, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Jörn Walter
- Department of Genetics, University of Saarland (UdS), Saarbruecken, Germany
| | - Paul D Coleman
- Banner ASU Neurodegenerative Research Center, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - David A Bennett
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Philip L De Jager
- Center for Translational and Computational Neuroimmunology, Department of Neurology and Taub Institute, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Jonathan Mill
- University of Exeter Medical School, College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Katie Lunnon
- University of Exeter Medical School, College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
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30
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Coppedè F. Epigenetic regulation in Alzheimer's disease: is it a potential therapeutic target? Expert Opin Ther Targets 2021; 25:283-298. [PMID: 33843425 DOI: 10.1080/14728222.2021.1916469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder and the primary form of dementia in the elderly. Changes in DNA methylation and post-translational modifications of histone tails are increasingly observed in AD tissues, and likely contribute to disease onset and progression. The reversibility of these epigenetic marks offers the potential for therapeutic interventions.Areas covered: After a concise and updated overview of DNA methylation and post-translational modifications of histone tails in AD tissues, this review provides an overview of the animal and cell culture studies investigating the potential of targeting these modifications to attenuate AD-like features. PubMed was searched for relevant literature between 2003 and 2021.Expert opinion: Methyl donor compounds and drugs acting on histone tail modifications attenuated the AD-like features and improved cognition in several transgenic AD mice; however, there are concerns about safety and tolerability for long-term treatment in humans. The challenges will be to take advantage of recent epigenome-wide investigations to identify the principal targets for future interventions, and to design novel, selective and safer agents. Natural compounds exerting epigenetic properties could represent a promising opportunity to delay disease onset in middle-aged individuals at increased AD risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Coppedè
- Department of Translational Research and of New Surgical and Medical Technologies, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.,Interdepartmental Research Center Nutrafood "Nutraceuticals and Food for Health", University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
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31
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Nabais MF, Laws SM, Lin T, Vallerga CL, Armstrong NJ, Blair IP, Kwok JB, Mather KA, Mellick GD, Sachdev PS, Wallace L, Henders AK, Zwamborn RAJ, Hop PJ, Lunnon K, Pishva E, Roubroeks JAY, Soininen H, Tsolaki M, Mecocci P, Lovestone S, Kłoszewska I, Vellas B, Furlong S, Garton FC, Henderson RD, Mathers S, McCombe PA, Needham M, Ngo ST, Nicholson G, Pamphlett R, Rowe DB, Steyn FJ, Williams KL, Anderson TJ, Bentley SR, Dalrymple-Alford J, Fowder J, Gratten J, Halliday G, Hickie IB, Kennedy M, Lewis SJG, Montgomery GW, Pearson J, Pitcher TL, Silburn P, Zhang F, Visscher PM, Yang J, Stevenson AJ, Hillary RF, Marioni RE, Harris SE, Deary IJ, Jones AR, Shatunov A, Iacoangeli A, van Rheenen W, van den Berg LH, Shaw PJ, Shaw CE, Morrison KE, Al-Chalabi A, Veldink JH, Hannon E, Mill J, Wray NR, McRae AF. Meta-analysis of genome-wide DNA methylation identifies shared associations across neurodegenerative disorders. Genome Biol 2021; 22:90. [PMID: 33771206 PMCID: PMC8004462 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-021-02275-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Accepted: 01/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND People with neurodegenerative disorders show diverse clinical syndromes, genetic heterogeneity, and distinct brain pathological changes, but studies report overlap between these features. DNA methylation (DNAm) provides a way to explore this overlap and heterogeneity as it is determined by the combined effects of genetic variation and the environment. In this study, we aim to identify shared blood DNAm differences between controls and people with Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease. RESULTS We use a mixed-linear model method (MOMENT) that accounts for the effect of (un)known confounders, to test for the association of each DNAm site with each disorder. While only three probes are found to be genome-wide significant in each MOMENT association analysis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson's disease (and none with Alzheimer's disease), a fixed-effects meta-analysis of the three disorders results in 12 genome-wide significant differentially methylated positions. Predicted immune cell-type proportions are disrupted across all neurodegenerative disorders. Protein inflammatory markers are correlated with profile sum-scores derived from disease-associated immune cell-type proportions in a healthy aging cohort. In contrast, they are not correlated with MOMENT DNAm-derived profile sum-scores, calculated using effect sizes of the 12 differentially methylated positions as weights. CONCLUSIONS We identify shared differentially methylated positions in whole blood between neurodegenerative disorders that point to shared pathogenic mechanisms. These shared differentially methylated positions may reflect causes or consequences of disease, but they are unlikely to reflect cell-type proportion differences.
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Grants
- U24 AG021886 NIA NIH HHS
- U01 AG016976 NIA NIH HHS
- Department of Health
- U01 AG024904 NIA NIH HHS
- 108890/Z/15/Z Wellcome Trust
- 503480 Medical Research Council
- TURNER/OCT15/972-797 Motor Neurone Disease Association
- U01 AG032984 NIA NIH HHS
- R01 HL105756 NHLBI NIH HHS
- 082604/2/07/Z Wellcome Trust
- R01 AG033193 NIA NIH HHS
- National Health and Medical Research Council
- Motor Neurone Disease Research Institute of Australia Ice Bucket Challenge
- Medical Research Council (UK)
- Economic and Social Research Council
- National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)
- the European Community’s Health Seventh Framework Programme
- Horizon 2020 Programme
- MND Association and the Wellcome Trust.
- European Research Council (ERC)
- EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research ()
- EU Joint Programme - Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND)
- Australian Research Council
- Mater Foundation
- ForeFront - NHMRC
- Australian National Health and Medical Research Council
- University of Otago Research Grant, together with financial support from the Jim and Mary Carney Charitable Trust
- Commonwealth Scientific Industrial and research Organization (CSIRO), Edith Cowan University (ECU), Mental Health Research institute (MHRI), National Ageing Research Institute (NARI), Austin Health, CogState Ltd
- National Health and Medical Research Council and the Dementia Collaborative Research Centres program (DCRC2), as well as funding from the Science and Industry Endowment Fund (SIEF) and the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Mental Health – funded throug
- EU Joint Programme - Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND), co-funded through the Australian National Health and Medical Research (NHMRC) Council, Motor Neurone Disease Research Institute of Australia Ice Bucket Challenge,
- EU Joint Programme - Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND), United Kingdom Medical Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, Motor Neuro Disease Association (GB), National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at
- EU Joint Programme - Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND), European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, PPP Allowance made available by Health~Holland, Top Sector Life Sciences & Health, Unit
- National Health and Medical Research Council, Australian Research Council, Mater Foundation,
- Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (
- University of Otago Research Grant, Jim and Mary Carney Charitable Trust
- Commonwealth Scientific Industrial and research Organization (CSIRO), Edith Cowan University (ECU), Mental Health Research institute (MHRI), National Ageing Research Institute (NARI), Austin Health, CogState Ltd., National Health and Medical Research Counc
- EFPIA companies and SMEs as part of InnoMed (Innovative Medicines in Europe), an Integrated Project funded by the European Union of the Sixth Framework program
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta F Nabais
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
- University of Exeter Medical School, RILD Building, RD&E Hospital Wonford, Barrack Road, Exeter, EX2 5DW, UK
| | - Simon M Laws
- School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Dr, Joondalup, WA, 6027, Australia
| | - Tian Lin
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Costanza L Vallerga
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
- Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, 3015GD, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | - Ian P Blair
- Australian Centre for Precision Health, University of South Australia Cancer Research Institute, School of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, 5001, Australia
| | - John B Kwok
- Brain and Mind Centre, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Karen A Mather
- Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2031, Australia
- Neuroscience Research Australia Institute, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia
| | - George D Mellick
- Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery (GRIDD), Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Perminder S Sachdev
- Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2031, Australia
- Neuropsychiatric Institute, The Prince of Wales Hospital, UNSW, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia
| | - Leanne Wallace
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Anjali K Henders
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Ramona A J Zwamborn
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Paul J Hop
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Katie Lunnon
- University of Exeter Medical School, RILD Building, RD&E Hospital Wonford, Barrack Road, Exeter, EX2 5DW, UK
| | - Ehsan Pishva
- University of Exeter Medical School, RILD Building, RD&E Hospital Wonford, Barrack Road, Exeter, EX2 5DW, UK
| | - Janou A Y Roubroeks
- University of Exeter Medical School, RILD Building, RD&E Hospital Wonford, Barrack Road, Exeter, EX2 5DW, UK
| | - Hilkka Soininen
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Neurology, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Magda Tsolaki
- 1st Department of Neurology, Memory and Dementia Unit, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Patrizia Mecocci
- Department of Medicine, Institute of Gerontology and Geriatrics, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Simon Lovestone
- Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | | | - Bruno Vellas
- INSERM U 558, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Sarah Furlong
- Centre for Motor Neuron Disease Research, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia
| | - Fleur C Garton
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Robert D Henderson
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
- Centre for Clinical Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4019, Australia
- Department of Neurology, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, 4029, Australia
| | - Susan Mathers
- Calvary Health Care Bethlehem, Parkdale, VIC, 3195, Australia
| | - Pamela A McCombe
- Centre for Clinical Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4019, Australia
- Department of Neurology, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, 4029, Australia
| | - Merrilee Needham
- Fiona Stanley Hospital, Perth, WA, 6150, Australia
- Notre Dame University, Fremantle, WA, 6160, Australia
- Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Murdoch University, Perth, WA, 6150, Australia
| | - Shyuan T Ngo
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
- Centre for Clinical Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4019, Australia
- The Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Garth Nicholson
- ANZAC Research Institute, Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Sydney, NSW, 2139, Australia
| | - Roger Pamphlett
- Discipline of Pathology and Department of Neuropathology, Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2050, Australia
| | - Dominic B Rowe
- Centre for Motor Neuron Disease Research, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia
| | - Frederik J Steyn
- Department of Neurology, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, 4029, Australia
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Kelly L Williams
- Centre for Motor Neuron Disease Research, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia
| | - Tim J Anderson
- New Zealand Brain Research Institute, Christchurch, New Zealand
- Department of Medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Steven R Bentley
- Eskitis Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
| | - John Dalrymple-Alford
- New Zealand Brain Research Institute, Christchurch, New Zealand
- School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Javed Fowder
- Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery (GRIDD), Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Jacob Gratten
- Mater Research, Translational Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia
- Mater Research Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Glenda Halliday
- Brain and Mind Research Centre, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Ian B Hickie
- Brain and Mind Research Centre, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Martin Kennedy
- Department of Pathology and Biomedical Science, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Simon J G Lewis
- Brain and Mind Research Centre, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Grant W Montgomery
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - John Pearson
- Department of Pathology, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Toni L Pitcher
- New Zealand Brain Research Institute, Christchurch, New Zealand
- Department of Medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Peter Silburn
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Futao Zhang
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Peter M Visscher
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Jian Yang
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
- School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Anna J Stevenson
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Robert F Hillary
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Riccardo E Marioni
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Sarah E Harris
- Department of Psychology, Lothian Birth Cohorts group, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Ian J Deary
- Department of Psychology, Lothian Birth Cohorts group, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Ashley R Jones
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, SE5 9RX, UK
| | - Aleksey Shatunov
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, SE5 9RX, UK
| | - Alfredo Iacoangeli
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, SE5 9RX, UK
| | - Wouter van Rheenen
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Leonard H van den Berg
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | | | - Cristopher E Shaw
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, SE5 9RX, UK
| | | | - Ammar Al-Chalabi
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, SE5 9RX, UK
- King's College Hospital, London, SE5 9RS, UK
| | - Jan H Veldink
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Eilis Hannon
- University of Exeter Medical School, RILD Building, RD&E Hospital Wonford, Barrack Road, Exeter, EX2 5DW, UK
| | - Jonathan Mill
- University of Exeter Medical School, RILD Building, RD&E Hospital Wonford, Barrack Road, Exeter, EX2 5DW, UK
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Naomi R Wray
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Allan F McRae
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia.
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Pellegrini C, Pirazzini C, Sala C, Sambati L, Yusipov I, Kalyakulina A, Ravaioli F, Kwiatkowska KM, Durso DF, Ivanchenko M, Monti D, Lodi R, Franceschi C, Cortelli P, Garagnani P, Bacalini MG. A Meta-Analysis of Brain DNA Methylation Across Sex, Age, and Alzheimer's Disease Points for Accelerated Epigenetic Aging in Neurodegeneration. Front Aging Neurosci 2021; 13:639428. [PMID: 33790779 PMCID: PMC8006465 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.639428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Accepted: 02/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by specific alterations of brain DNA methylation (DNAm) patterns. Age and sex, two major risk factors for AD, are also known to largely affect the epigenetic profiles in brain, but their contribution to AD-associated DNAm changes has been poorly investigated. In this study we considered publicly available DNAm datasets of four brain regions (temporal, frontal, entorhinal cortex, and cerebellum) from healthy adult subjects and AD patients, and performed a meta-analysis to identify sex-, age-, and AD-associated epigenetic profiles. In one of these datasets it was also possible to distinguish 5-methylcytosine (5mC) and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) profiles. We showed that DNAm differences between males and females tend to be shared between the four brain regions, while aging differently affects cortical regions compared to cerebellum. We found that the proportion of sex-dependent probes whose methylation is modified also during aging is higher than expected, but that differences between males and females tend to be maintained, with only a few probes showing age-by-sex interaction. We did not find significant overlaps between AD- and sex-associated probes, nor disease-by-sex interaction effects. On the contrary, we found that AD-related epigenetic modifications are significantly enriched in probes whose DNAm varies with age and that there is a high concordance between the direction of changes (hyper or hypo-methylation) in aging and AD, supporting accelerated epigenetic aging in the disease. In summary, our results suggest that age-associated DNAm patterns concur to the epigenetic deregulation observed in AD, providing new insights on how advanced age enables neurodegeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camilla Pellegrini
- Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Chiara Pirazzini
- Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Claudia Sala
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Luisa Sambati
- Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Igor Yusipov
- Institute of Information Technologies, Mathematics and Mechanics, Lobachevsky University, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
| | - Alena Kalyakulina
- Institute of Information Technologies, Mathematics and Mechanics, Lobachevsky University, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
| | - Francesco Ravaioli
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Katarzyna M. Kwiatkowska
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Danielle F. Durso
- Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States
| | - Mikhail Ivanchenko
- Institute of Information Technologies, Mathematics and Mechanics, Lobachevsky University, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
| | - Daniela Monti
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences “Mario Serio,” University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Raffaele Lodi
- Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Claudio Franceschi
- Institute of Information Technologies, Mathematics and Mechanics, Lobachevsky University, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
| | - Pietro Cortelli
- Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Paolo Garagnani
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
- Applied Biomedical Research Center, Policlinico S.Orsola-Malpighi Polyclinic, Bologna, Italy
- National Research Council of Italy Institute of Molecular Genetics “Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza,” Unit of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Maria Giulia Bacalini
- Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
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33
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De Jager PL. Deconstructing the epigenomic architecture of human neurodegeneration. Neurobiol Dis 2021; 153:105331. [PMID: 33711493 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2021.105331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Revised: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 03/04/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The past 10 years have seen a rapid advance in our ability to profile the epigenome from human pathologic material, opening up new study designs to investigate the role of epigenomic features in human disease. Moderate to large scale studies have now been conducted in the target tissue of neurodegenerative diseases, the brain, and, through the use of rigorous statistical methodologies, have laid a foundation of validated observations and successful study designs that inform our perspective on the role of the epigenome in these diseases, generate new hypotheses, and guide our path forward for a second generation of studies. It is clear that sampling the epigenome is not redundant with other "omic" profiling of the same tissue and that it can serve as an important vehicle for the integration of the effect of multiple environmental exposures on risk of disease. In some cases, change in the epigenome may thus have a causal impact on disease, but we now have evidence that such changes may also mediate some of the effect of tau proteinopathy and that other changes may moderate the impact of genetic risk factors. Thus, the epigenome may be involved at multiple different stages of the sequence of events that leads to human neurodegeneration, and we review the study designs that may begin to guide the development of a more comprehensive perspective on the aging brain's epigenome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip L De Jager
- Center for Translational and Computational Neuroimmunology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, United States of America; Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, United States of America; Department of Neurology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, United States of America.
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Li QS, Sun Y, Wang T. Epigenome-wide association study of Alzheimer's disease replicates 22 differentially methylated positions and 30 differentially methylated regions. Clin Epigenetics 2020; 12:149. [PMID: 33069246 PMCID: PMC7568396 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-020-00944-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Growing evidence shows that epigenetic modifications play a role in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We performed an epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) to evaluate the DNA methylation differences using postmortem superior temporal gyrus (STG) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) samples. RESULTS Samples from 72 AD patients and 62 age-matched cognitively normal controls were assayed using Illumina© Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip. Five and 14 differentially methylated positions (DMPs) associated with pathology (i.e., Braak stage) with p value less than Bonferroni correction threshold of 6.79 × 10-8 in the STG and IFG were identified, respectively. These cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) sites included promoter associated cg26263477 annotated to ABCA7 in the STG (p = 1.21 × 10-11), and cg14058329 annotated to the HOXA5/HOXA3/HOXA-AS3 gene cluster (p = 1.62 × 10-9) and cg09448088 (p = 3.95 × 10-9) annotated to MCF2L in the IFG. These genes were previously reported to harbor DMPs and/or differentially methylated regions (DMRs). Previously reported DMPs annotated to RMGA, GNG7, HOXA3, GPR56, SPG7, PCNT, RP11-961A15.1, MCF2L, RHBDF2, ANK1, PCNT, TPRG1, and RASGEF1C were replicated (p < 0.0001). One hundred twenty-one and 173 DMRs associated with pathology in the STG and IFG, respectively, were additionally identified. Of these, DMRs annotated to 30 unique genes were also identified as significant DMRs in the same brain region in a recent meta-analysis, while additional DMRs annotated to 12 genes were reported as DMRs in a different brain region or in a cross-cortex meta-analysis. The significant DMRs were enriched in promoters, CpG islands, and exons in the genome. Gene set enrichment analysis of DMPs and DMRs showed that gene sets involved in neuroinflammation (e.g., microglia differentiation), neurogenesis, and cognition were enriched (false discovery rate (FDR) < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Twenty-two DMPs and 30 DMRs associated with pathology were replicated, and novel DMPs and DMRs were discovered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingqin S Li
- Neuroscience, Janssen Research & Development, LLC, 1125 Trenton-Harbourton Road, Titusville, NJ, 08560, USA.
| | - Yu Sun
- Neuroscience, Janssen Research & Development, LLC, 1125 Trenton-Harbourton Road, Titusville, NJ, 08560, USA
- Discovery Science, Janssen Research & Development, LLC, Spring House, PA, USA
| | - Tania Wang
- AccuraScience, LLC, Johnston, IA, USA
- Center for Medical Genetics and Hunan Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China
- Beijing Institutes of Life Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
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Exploring Beyond the DNA Sequence: A Review of Epigenomic Studies of DNA and Histone Modifications in Dementia. CURRENT GENETIC MEDICINE REPORTS 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s40142-020-00190-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Purpose of Review
Although genome-scale studies have identified many genetic variants associated with dementia, these do not account for all of disease incidence and so recently attention has turned to studying mechanisms of genome regulation. Epigenetic processes such as modifications to the DNA and histones alter transcriptional activity and have been hypothesized to be involved in the etiology of dementia. Here, we review the growing body of literature on dementia epigenomics, with a focus on novel discoveries, current limitations, and future directions for the field.
Recent Findings
It is through advances in genomic technology that large-scale quantification of epigenetic modifications is now possible in dementia. Most of the literature in the field has primarily focussed on exploring DNA modifications, namely DNA methylation, in postmortem brain samples from individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. However, recent studies have now begun to explore other epigenetic marks, such as histone modifications, investigating these signatures in both the brain and blood, and in a range of other dementias.
Summary
There is still a demand for more epigenomic studies to be conducted in the dementia field, particularly those assessing chromatin dynamics and a broader range of histone modifications. The field faces limitations in sample accessibility with many studies lacking power. Furthermore, the frequent use of heterogeneous bulk tissue containing multiple cell types further hinders data interpretation. Looking to the future, multi-omic studies, integrating many different epigenetic marks, with matched genetic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data, will be vital, particularly when undertaken in isolated cell populations, or ideally at the level of the single cell. Ultimately these studies could identify novel dysfunctional pathways and biomarkers for disease, which could lead to new therapeutic avenues.
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