1 6901 167 [THE EXPERIMENTAL MODEL OF AUTOIMMUNE PROCESS: THE ROLE OF EPIGENETIC VARIATION IN THE POPULATION OF MICE HYBRIDS]. BACKGROUND: AT THE DEVELOPMENT OF GRAFT VERSUS HOST DISEASE IN GENETICALLY HOMOGENEOUS POPULATION OF (C57BI/6 X DBA/2) FL MICE TWO CLINICAL PHENOTYPES OF SLE-LIKE DISEASE WERE REVEALED: LUPUS+ (IMMUNE COMPLEX GLOMERULONEPHRITIS AND HEMNOLYTIC ANEMIA) AND LUPUS - (HEMOLYTIC ANEMIA). THE GVHD PHENOTYPIC HETEROGENEITY IS DETERMINED BY THE TH2-POLARIZATION: TH2 LYMPHOCYTE PREDOMINANT ACTIVITY, LEADS TO THE LUPUS+DEVELOPMENT, OR PREVALENCE ACTIVITY OF TH1 CELLS, LEADS TO THE LUPUS- DEVELOPMENT. OBJECTIVE: OUR AIM WAS TO EVALUATE THE POSSIBILITY OF USING AN EXPERIMENTAL MODEL OF AUTOIMMNUNE DISEASE FOR STUDYING AND TESTING OF EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, SHIFTING TH1/TH2 BALANCE IN VIVO. METHODS: CHRONIC GVHD WAS INDUCED IN B6D2F1 MICE BY THE TRANSPLANTATION OF 130X10(6) PARENTAL DBA/2 SPLENOCYTES. ANTI-DS-DNA, TOTAL IGG AND IGGI, IGG2A ABS WERE MEASURED BY ELISA. RESULTS: SIX- TO 8-WEEK-OLD FEMALE DBA/2 AND B6D2F1 MICE WERE OBTAINED FROM BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH LABORATORY (NOVOSIBIRSK). IT WAS ESTABLISHED THAT REGULAR MODERATE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY (UNLADED SWIMMING) SHIFTED TH1/TH2 BALANCE TOWARDS TH1. THIS LEADS TO A DECREASE IN A POPULATION OF RECIPIENTS THE LUPUS+ MICE FROM 57 TO 26% (P <0,001) WITH SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED HYPERGAMMAGLOBULINEMIA (IGG FROM 2,8 TO 2,0 MG/ML; P <0,047) AND DNA ANTIBODIES TITER FROM 0,18 TO 0,12 OD (P =0,05). ADMINISTRATION OF EPIGENETIC MODIFICATOR BISPHENOL A AT LOW DOSES, WHICH MIMICKING ESTROGEN EFFECTS, ENHANCES THE PROPORTION OF LUPUS+ MICE IN EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS FROM 33 TO 64% (P <0,001) AND IMPAIRS THEIR CLINICAL STATUS BY THE INCREASING THE URINE PROTEIN LEVEL FROM 2.8 TO 4,2 MG/ML (P <0,001) IN ANIMALS. CONCLUSION: TH1/TH2 - BALANCE PRESUMABLY IS DETERMINED BY THE IMMUNE SYSTEM EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION IN EXPERIMENTAL MICE, FORMED ON THE PREVIOUS STAGES OF ONTOGENY AND DEFINES THE DIRECTION OF IMMUNE PROCESSES DEVELOPMENT IN INDIVIDUAL ANIMAL. 2015 2 2967 31 GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF CATECHOL-O-METHYLTRANSFERASE IN RELATION TO INFLAMMATION IN CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME AND FIBROMYALGIA. BACKGROUND: CATECHOL-O-METHYLTRANSFERASE (COMT) HAS BEEN SHOWN TO INFLUENCE CLINICAL PAIN, DESCENDING MODULATION, AND EXERCISE-INDUCED SYMPTOM WORSENING. COMT REGULATES NOCICEPTIVE PROCESSING AND INFLAMMATION, KEY PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL FEATURES OF CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME AND FIBROMYALGIA (CFS/FM). WE AIMED TO DETERMINE THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS REGULATING COMT AND ITS INFLUENCE ON INFLAMMATORY MARKERS AND SYMPTOMS IN PATIENTS WITH CFS/FM. METHODS: A CASE-CONTROL STUDY WITH REPEATED-MEASURES DESIGN WAS USED TO REDUCE THE CHANCE OF FALSE POSITIVE AND INCREASE THE POWER OF OUR FINDINGS. FIFTY-FOUR PARTICIPANTS (28 PATIENTS WITH CFS/FM AND 26 CONTROLS) WERE ASSESSED TWICE WITHIN 4 DAYS. THE ASSESSMENT INCLUDED CLINICAL QUESTIONNAIRES, NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT (PAIN THRESHOLDS, TEMPORAL SUMMATION, AND CONDITIONED PAIN MODULATION), AND BLOOD WITHDRAWAL IN ORDER TO ASSESS RS4818, RS4633, AND RS4680 COMT POLYMORPHISMS AND PERFORM HAPLOTYPE ESTIMATION, DNA METHYLATION IN THE COMT GENE (BOTH MB-COMT AND S-COMT PROMOTERS), AND CYTOKINE EXPRESSION (TNF-ALPHA, IFN-GAMMA, IL-6, AND TGF-BETA). RESULTS: COMT HAPLOTYPES WERE ASSOCIATED WITH DNA METHYLATION IN THE S-COMT PROMOTER, TGF-BETA EXPRESSION, AND SYMPTOMS. HOWEVER, THIS WAS NOT SPECIFIC FOR ONE CONDITION. SIGNIFICANT BETWEEN-GROUP DIFFERENCES WERE FOUND FOR INCREASED DNA METHYLATION IN THE MB-COMT PROMOTER AND DECREASED IFN-GAMMA EXPRESSION IN PATIENTS. DISCUSSION: OUR RESULTS ARE CONSISTENT WITH BASIC AND CLINICAL RESEARCH, PROVIDING INTERESTING INSIGHTS INTO GENETIC-EPIGENETIC REGULATORY MECHANISMS. MB-COMT DNA METHYLATION MIGHT BE AN INDEPENDENT FACTOR CONTRIBUTING TO THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF CFS/FM. FURTHER RESEARCH ON DNA METHYLATION IN COMPLEX CONDITIONS SUCH AS CFS/FM IS WARRANTED. WE RECOMMEND FUTURE RESEARCH TO EMPLOY A REPEATED-MEASURE DESIGN TO CONTROL FOR BIOMARKERS VARIABILITY AND WITHIN-SUBJECT CHANGES. 2022 3 546 32 ATTENUATED EXPRESSION OF SLCO2A1 CAUSED BY DNA METHYLATION IN PEDIATRIC INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE. BACKGROUND: SLCO2A1 ENCODES A PROSTAGLANDIN (PG) TRANSPORTER, AND AUTOSOMAL RECESSIVE PATHOGENIC VARIANTS OF THIS GENE CAUSE CHRONIC ENTEROPATHY ASSOCIATED WITH SLCO2A1. IT IS UNCLEAR WHETHER A HETEROZYGOUS PATHOGENIC VARIANT OF SLCO2A1 HAS A ROLE IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF OTHER TYPES OF INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE (IBD). IN THIS STUDY, WE INVESTIGATED THE POSSIBLE INVOLVEMENT OF A LOCAL EPIGENETIC ALTERATION IN SLCO2A1 IN PATIENTS WITH A HETEROZYGOUS PATHOGENIC VARIANT. METHODS: WE CONDUCTED WHOLE-EXOME SEQUENCING OF SAMPLES FROM 2 SISTERS WITH SUSPECTED MONOGENIC IBD. IN ADDITION, WE PERFORMED BISULFITE SEQUENCING USING DNA EXTRACTED FROM THEIR SMALL AND LARGE INTESTINE SAMPLES TO EXPLORE EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS. RESULTS: A HETEROZYGOUS SPLICING SITE VARIANT, SLCO2A1:C.940 + 1G > A, WAS DETECTED IN BOTH PATIENTS. TO EXPLORE THE POSSIBLE INVOLVEMENT OF EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS, WE ANALYZED PROTEIN AND MESSENGER RNA EXPRESSION OF SLCO2A1, AND OBSERVED ATTENUATED SLCO2A1 EXPRESSION IN THE INFLAMED LESIONS OF THESE PATIENTS COMPARED WITH THAT IN THE CONTROL INDIVIDUALS. FURTHERMORE, BISULFITE SEQUENCING INDICATED DENSE METHYLATION IN THE PROMOTER REGION OF SLCO2A1 ONLY IN THE INFLAMED LESIONS OF BOTH PATIENTS. THE URINARY PG METABOLITE LEVELS IN THESE PATIENTS WERE COMPARABLE TO THOSE IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC ENTEROPATHY ASSOCIATED WITH SLCO2A1 AND HIGHER THAN THOSE IN THE CONTROL INDIVIDUALS. WE FOUND CONSIDERABLY HIGHER LEVELS OF THE METABOLITES IN PATIENT 1, WHO SHOWED MORE SEVERE SYMPTOMS THAN PATIENT 2. CONCLUSIONS: LOCAL DNA METHYLATION ATTENUATED SLCO2A1 EXPRESSION, WHICH MAY EVOKE LOCAL INFLAMMATION OF THE MUCOSA BY THE UNINCORPORATED PG. THESE FINDINGS MAY IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS UNDERLYING IBD DEVELOPMENT. 2023 4 1846 30 EFFECTS OF TWO TYPES OF ENERGY RESTRICTION ON METHYLATION LEVELS OF ADIPONECTIN RECEPTOR 1 AND LEPTIN RECEPTOR OVERLAPPING TRANSCRIPT IN A MOUSE MAMMARY TUMOUR VIRUS-TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR-ALPHA BREAST CANCER MOUSE MODEL. THE ROLE OF ADIPONECTIN AND LEPTIN SIGNALLING PATHWAYS HAS BEEN SUGGESTED TO PLAY IMPORTANT ROLES IN THE PROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF ENERGY RESTRICTION (ER) ON MAMMARY TUMOUR (MT) DEVELOPMENT. TO STUDY THE EFFECTS OF ER ON THE METHYLATION LEVELS IN ADIPONECTIN RECEPTOR 1 (ADIPOR1) AND LEPTIN RECEPTOR OVERLAPPING TRANSCRIPT (LEPROT) GENES USING THE PYROSEQUENCING METHOD IN MAMMARY FAT PAD TISSUE, MOUSE MAMMARY TUMOUR VIRUS-TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR-ALPHA (MMTV-TGF-ALPHA) FEMALE MICE WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO AD LIBITUM (AL), CHRONIC ER (CER, 15 % ER) OR INTERMITTENT ER (3 WEEKS AL AND 1 WEEK 60 % ER IN CYCLIC PERIODS) GROUPS AT 10 WEEKS OF AGE UNTIL 82 WEEKS OF AGE. THE METHYLATION LEVELS OF ADIPOR1 IN THE CER GROUP WERE HIGHER THAN THOSE IN THE AL GROUP AT WEEK 49/50 (P < 0.05), WHILE THE LEVELS OF METHYLATION FOR ADIPOR1 AND LEPROT GENES WERE SIMILAR AMONG THE OTHER GROUPS. ALSO, THE METHYLATION LEVELS AT CPG2 AND CPG3 REGIONS OF THE PROMOTER REGION OF THE ADIPOR1 GENE IN THE CER GROUP WERE THREE TIMES HIGHER (P < 0.05), WHILE CPG1 ISLAND OF LEPROT METHYLATION WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER COMPARED WITH THE OTHER GROUPS (P < 0.05). ADIPONECTIN AND LEPTIN GENE EXPRESSION LEVELS WERE CONSISTENT WITH THE METHYLATION LEVELS. WE ALSO OBSERVED A CHANGE WITH AGEING IN METHYLATION LEVELS OF THESE GENES. THESE RESULTS INDICATE THAT DIFFERENT TYPES OF ER MODIFY METHYLATION LEVELS OF ADIPOR1 AND LEPROT IN DIFFERENT WAYS AND CER HAD A MORE SIGNIFICANT EFFECT ON METHYLATION LEVELS OF BOTH GENES. EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF THESE GENES MAY PLAY IMPORTANT ROLES IN THE PREVENTIVE EFFECTS OF ER AGAINST MT DEVELOPMENT AND AGEING PROCESSES. 2021 5 217 27 ACUTE EXERCISE INCREASES THE EXPRESSION OF KIR2DS4 BY PROMOTER DEMETHYLATION IN NK CELLS. POSITIVE EFFECTS OF EXERCISE ON CANCER PREVENTION AND PROGRESSION HAVE BEEN PROPOSED TO BE MEDIATED BY STIMULATING NATURAL KILLER (NK) CELLS. BECAUSE NK CELL RECEPTORS ARE REGULATED BY EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, WE INVESTIGATED WHETHER ACUTE AEROBIC EXERCISE AND TRAINING CHANGE PROMOTER DNA METHYLATION AND GENE EXPRESSION OF THE ACTIVATING KIR2DS4 AND THE INHIBITING KIR3DL1 GENE. SIXTEEN HEALTHY WOMEN (50-60 YEARS) PERFORMED A GRADED EXERCISE TEST (GXT) AND WERE RANDOMIZED INTO EITHER A PASSIVE CONTROL GROUP OR AN INTERVENTION GROUP PERFORMING A FOUR-WEEK ENDURANCE EXERCISE INTERVENTION. BLOOD SAMPLES (PRE-, POST-GXT AND POST-TRAINING) WERE USED FOR ISOLATION OF DNA/RNA OF NK CELLS TO ASSESS DNA PROMOTER METHYLATION BY TARGETED DEEP-AMPLICON SEQUENCING AND GENE EXPRESSION BY QRT-PCR. POTENTIAL CHANGES IN NK CELL SUBSETS WERE DETERMINED BY FLOW CYTOMETRY. ACUTE AND CHRONIC EXERCISE DID NOT PROVOKE SIGNIFICANT ALTERATIONS OF NK CELL PROPORTIONS. PROMOTER METHYLATION DECREASED AND GENE EXPRESSION INCREASED FOR KIR2DS4 AFTER ACUTE EXERCISE. A HIGH GENE EXPRESSION CORRELATED WITH A LOW METHYLATION OF CPGS THAT WERE ALTERED BY ACUTE EXERCISE. CHRONIC EXERCISE RESULTED IN A MINOR DECREASE OF DNA METHYLATION AND DID NOT ALTER GENE EXPRESSION. ACUTE EXERCISE PROVOKES EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, AFFECTING THE BALANCE BETWEEN THE ACTIVATING KIR2DS4 AND THE INHIBITING KIR3DL1, WITH POTENTIAL BENEFITS ON NK CELL FUNCTION. 2019 6 5841 29 STRUCTURAL CHROMATIN ALTERATIONS IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD LEUKOCYTES OF ALCOHOL-DEPENDENT INDIVIDUALS DURING DETOXIFICATION THERAPY. BACKGROUND/AIM: THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE STATE OF CHROMATIN CONDENSATION IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD LEUKOCYTES OF ALCOHOLICS, DURING THE EARLY DETOXIFICATION PERIOD, IN ORDER TO HIGHLIGHT STRUCTURAL MODIFICATIONS, INDICATING EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS REGULATED BY ALCOHOL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: BLOOD SAMPLES WERE OBTAINED FROM ALCOHOLIC PATIENTS, WHO WERE ADMITTED FOR DETOXIFICATION ON AN INPATIENT BASIS, AND FROM HEALTHY CONTROLS. THE LEVEL OF CONDENSED HETEROCHROMATIN AND DE-CONDENSED EUCHROMATIN WERE DETECTED THROUGH THE RATIO OF LYSINE TO ARGININE RESIDUES, BY THE APPLICATION OF THE AMMONIACAL SILVER REACTION (ASR) STAINING ON LEUKOCYTE PELLETS, AND THROUGH IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL LOCALIZATION OF HISTONE H1 ON PERIPHERAL BLOOD SMEARS. RESULTS: LYMPHOCYTES AND NEUTROPHILS WITH RELAXED DE-CONDENSED CHROMATIN WERE FOUND, INDICATING A MORE REACTIVE GENOME IN ALCOHOLICS, EVEN AT THE STAGE OF DETOXIFICATION. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS UNDERLINE THE IMPORTANCE OF CHROMATIN STRUCTURE OF LEUKOCYTES AS A SENSITIVE, PERIPHERAL, BIOLOGICAL MARKER FOR EPIGENETIC STUDIES IN LIVING CHRONIC ALCOHOLICS. 2014 7 5464 22 RESILIENCE IN LONG-TERM VIRAL INFECTION: GENETIC DETERMINANTS AND INTERACTIONS. VIRUS-INDUCED NEUROLOGICAL SEQUELAE RESULTING FROM INFECTION BY THEILER'S MURINE ENCEPHALOMYELITIS VIRUS (TMEV) ARE USED FOR STUDYING HUMAN CONDITIONS RANGING FROM EPILEPTIC SEIZURES TO DEMYELINATING DISEASE. MOUSE STRAINS ARE TYPICALLY CONSIDERED SUSCEPTIBLE OR RESISTANT TO TMEV INFECTION BASED ON VIRAL PERSISTENCE AND EXTREME PHENOTYPES, SUCH AS DEMYELINATION. WE HAVE IDENTIFIED A BROADER SPECTRUM OF PHENOTYPIC OUTCOMES BY INFECTING STRAINS OF THE GENETICALLY DIVERSE COLLABORATIVE CROSS (CC) MOUSE RESOURCE. WE EVALUATED THE CHRONIC-INFECTION GENE EXPRESSION PROFILES OF HIPPOCAMPI AND THORACIC SPINAL CORDS FOR 19 CC STRAINS IN RELATION TO PHENOTYPIC SEVERITY AND TMEV PERSISTENCE. STRAINS WERE CLUSTERED BASED ON SIMILAR PHENOTYPIC PROFILES AND TMEV LEVELS AT 90 DAYS POST-INFECTION, AND WE CATEGORIZED DISTINCT TMEV RESPONSE PROFILES. THE THREE MOST COMMON PROFILES INCLUDED "RESISTANT" AND "SUSCEPTIBLE," AS BEFORE, AS WELL AS A "RESILIENT" TMEV RESPONSE GROUP WHICH EXPERIENCED BOTH TMEV PERSISTENCE AND MILD NEUROLOGICAL PHENOTYPES EVEN AT 90 DAYS POST-INFECTION. EACH PROFILE HAD A DISTINCT GENE EXPRESSION SIGNATURE, ALLOWING THE IDENTIFICATION OF PATHWAYS AND NETWORKS SPECIFIC TO EACH TMEV RESPONSE GROUP. CC FOUNDER HAPLOTYPES FOR GENES INVOLVED IN THESE PATHWAYS/NETWORKS REVEALED CANDIDATE RESPONSE-SPECIFIC ALLELES. THESE ALLELES DEMONSTRATED PLEIOTROPY AND EPIGENETIC (MIRNA) REGULATION IN LONG-TERM TMEV INFECTION, WITH PARTICULAR RELEVANCE FOR RESILIENT MOUSE STRAINS. 2021 8 3468 39 HYPOXIA-INDUCED DNA HYPERMETHYLATION IN HUMAN PULMONARY FIBROBLASTS IS ASSOCIATED WITH THY-1 PROMOTER METHYLATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PRO-FIBROTIC PHENOTYPE. BACKGROUND: PULMONARY FIBROSIS IS A DEBILITATING AND LETHAL DISEASE WITH NO EFFECTIVE TREATMENT OPTIONS. UNDERSTANDING THE PATHOLOGICAL PROCESSES AT PLAY WILL DIRECT THE APPLICATION OF NOVEL THERAPEUTIC AVENUES. HYPOXIA HAS BEEN IMPLICATED IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF PULMONARY FIBROSIS YET THE PRECISE MECHANISM BY WHICH IT CONTRIBUTES TO DISEASE PROGRESSION REMAINS TO BE FULLY ELUCIDATED. IT HAS BEEN SHOWN THAT CHRONIC HYPOXIA CAN ALTER DNA METHYLATION PATTERNS IN TUMOUR-DERIVED CELL LINES. THIS EPIGENETIC ALTERATION CAN INDUCE CHANGES IN CELLULAR PHENOTYPE WITH PROMOTER METHYLATION BEING ASSOCIATED WITH GENE SILENCING. OF PARTICULAR RELEVANCE TO IDIOPATHIC PULMONARY FIBROSIS (IPF) IS THE OBSERVATION THAT THY-1 PROMOTER METHYLATION IS ASSOCIATED WITH A MYOFIBROBLAST PHENOTYPE WHERE LOSS OF THY-1 OCCURS ALONGSIDE INCREASED ALPHA SMOOTH MUSCLE ACTIN (ALPHA-SMA) EXPRESSION. THE INITIAL AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE WHETHER HYPOXIA REGULATES DNA METHYLATION IN NORMAL HUMAN LUNG FIBROBLASTS (CCD19LU). AS IT HAS BEEN REPORTED THAT HYPOXIA SUPPRESSES THY-1 EXPRESSION DURING LUNG DEVELOPMENT WE ALSO STUDIED THE EFFECT OF HYPOXIA ON THY-1 PROMOTER METHYLATION AND GENE EXPRESSION. METHODS: CCD19LU WERE GROWN FOR UP TO 8 DAYS IN HYPOXIA AND ASSESSED FOR GLOBAL CHANGES IN DNA METHYLATION USING FLOW CYTOMETRY. REAL-TIME PCR WAS USED TO QUANTIFY EXPRESSION OF THY-1, ALPHA-SMA, COLLAGEN I AND III. GENOMIC DNA WAS BISULPHITE TREATED AND METHYLATION SPECIFIC PCR (MSPCR) WAS USED TO EXAMINE THE METHYLATION STATUS OF THE THY-1 PROMOTER. RESULTS: SIGNIFICANT GLOBAL HYPERMETHYLATION WAS DETECTED IN HYPOXIC FIBROBLASTS RELATIVE TO NORMOXIC CONTROLS AND WAS ACCOMPANIED BY INCREASED EXPRESSION OF MYOFIBROBLAST MARKERS. THY-1 MRNA EXPRESSION WAS SUPPRESSED IN HYPOXIC CELLS, WHICH WAS RESTORED WITH THE DEMETHYLATING AGENT 5-AZA-2'-DEOXYCYTIDINE. MSPCR REVEALED THAT THY-1 BECAME METHYLATED FOLLOWING FIBROBLAST EXPOSURE TO 1% O2. CONCLUSION: THESE DATA SUGGEST THAT GLOBAL AND GENE-SPECIFIC CHANGES IN DNA METHYLATION MAY PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN FIBROBLAST FUNCTION IN HYPOXIA. 2012 9 1584 21 DNA METHYLATION PROFILES OF SELECTED PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES IN ALZHEIMER DISEASE. BY MEANS OF FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS ANALYSIS, WE RECENTLY DESCRIBED THE MRNA EXPRESSION PROFILES OF VARIOUS GENES INVOLVED IN THE NEUROINFLAMMATORY RESPONSE IN THE BRAINS OF SUBJECTS WITH LATE-ONSET ALZHEIMER DISEASE (LOAD). SOME OF THESE GENES, NAMELY INTERLEUKIN (IL)-1BETA AND IL-6, SHOWED DISTINCT EXPRESSION PROFILES WITH PEAK EXPRESSION DURING THE FIRST STAGES OF THE DISEASE AND CONTROL-LIKE LEVELS AT LATER STAGES. IL-1BETA AND IL-6 GENES ARE MODULATED BY DNA METHYLATION IN DIFFERENT CHRONIC AND DEGENERATIVE DISEASES; IT IS ALSO WELL KNOWN THAT LOAD MAY HAVE AN EPIGENETIC BASIS. INDEED, WE AND OTHERS HAVE PREVIOUSLY REPORTED GENE-SPECIFIC DNA METHYLATION ALTERATIONS IN LOAD AND IN RELATED ANIMAL MODELS. BASED ON THESE DATA, WE STUDIED THE DNA METHYLATION PROFILES, AT SINGLE CYTOSINE RESOLUTION, OF IL-1BETA AND IL-6 5'-FLANKING REGION BY BISULPHITE MODIFICATION IN THE CORTEX OF HEALTHY CONTROLS AND LOAD PATIENTS AT 2 DIFFERENT DISEASE STAGES: BRAAK I-II/A AND BRAAK V-VI/C. OUR ANALYSIS PROVIDES EVIDENCE THAT NEUROINFLAMMATION IN LOAD IS ASSOCIATED WITH (AND POSSIBLY MEDIATED BY) EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS. 2017 10 4279 30 MICRONUCLEI, INFLAMMATION AND AUTO-IMMUNE DISEASE. AUTO-IMMUNE DISEASES (AUD) ARE CHARACTERIZED BY AN IMMUNE RESPONSE TO ANTIGENIC COMPONENTS OF THE HOST ITSELF. THE ETIOLOGY OF AUD IS NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD. THE AVAILABLE EVIDENCE POINTS TO AN INTERACTION BETWEEN GENETIC, EPIGENETIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, INFECTIOUS AND LIFE-STYLE FACTORS. AUD ARE MORE PREVALENT IN WOMEN THAN IN MEN; SEX HORMONES PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN THIS SEX BIAS. MICRONUCLEI (MN) EMERGED AS A NEW PLAYER IN THE INDUCTION OF AUD, BASED ON THE CAPACITY OF DNA-SENSORS TO DETECT SELF-DNA THAT LEAKS INTO THE CYTOPLASM FROM DISRUPTED MN AND INDUCE THE CGAS-STING PATHWAY TRIGGERING AN INNATE AUTO-IMMUNE RESPONSE AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATION. IT WAS FOUND THAT INFLAMMATION CAN INDUCE MN AND MN CAN INDUCE INFLAMMATION, LEADING TO A VICIOUS INFLAMMATION-OXIDATIVE-DNA DAMAGE-MN-FORMATION-CHROMOTHRIPSIS CYCLE. MN ORIGINATING FROM SEX CHROMOSOME-LOSS MAY INDUCE INFLAMMATION AND AUD. WE PERFORMED A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF STUDIES REPORTING MN IN PATIENTS WITH SYSTEMIC OR ORGAN-SPECIFIC AUD. A META-ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED ON LYMPHOCYTE MN IN DIABETES MELLITUS (10 STUDIES, 457 PATIENTS/290 CONTROLS) AND BEHCET'S DISEASE (3 STUDIES, 100 PATIENTS/70 CONTROLS) AND FOR BUCCAL MN IN DIABETES MELLITUS (11 STUDIES, 507 PATIENTS/427 CONTROLS). A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN PATIENTS COMPARED TO CONTROLS WAS FOUND IN THE META-ANALYSES PROVIDING AN INDICATION OF AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN MN AND AUD. A 36%-HIGHER MEAN-MRI IN BUCCAL CELLS (3.8+/-0.7) WAS FOUND COMPARED TO LYMPHOCYTES (2.8+/-0.7)(P = 0.01). THE META-MRI IN LYMPHOCYTES AND BUCCAL CELLS (1.7 AND 3.0 RESPECTIVELY) SUGGEST THAT BUCCAL CELLS MAY BE MORE SENSITIVE. TO ASSESS THEIR RELATIVE SENSITIVITY, STUDIES WITH MEASUREMENTS FROM THE SAME SUBJECTS WOULD BE DESIRABLE. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT FUTURE STUDIES (I) INVESTIGATE, IN WELL-DESIGNED POWERED STUDIES, THE PROSPECTIVE ASSOCIATION OF MN-FORMATION WITH AUD AND (II) EXPLORE THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS BY WHICH CHROMOSOME SHATTERING IN MN AND THE RELEASE OF CHROMATIN FRAGMENTS FROM MN LEAD TO THE FORMATION OF AUTO-ANTIBODIES. 2020 11 3125 20 GHSR DNA HYPERMETHYLATION IS A COMMON EPIGENETIC ALTERATION OF HIGH DIAGNOSTIC VALUE IN A BROAD SPECTRUM OF CANCERS. IDENTIFICATION OF A SINGLE MOLECULAR TRAIT THAT IS DETERMINANT OF COMMON MALIGNANCIES MAY SERVE AS A POWERFUL DIAGNOSTIC SUPPLEMENT TO CANCER TYPE-SPECIFIC MARKERS. HERE, WE REPORT A DNA METHYLATION MARK THAT IS CHARACTERISTIC OF SEVEN STUDIED MALIGNANCIES, NAMELY CANCERS OF LUNG, BREAST, PROSTATE, PANCREAS, COLORECTUM, GLIOBLASTOMA AND B CELL CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKAEMIA (CLL) (N = 137). THIS MARK WAS DEFINED BY SUBSTANTIAL HYPERMETHYLATION AT THE PROMOTER AND FIRST EXON OF GROWTH HORMONE SECRETAGOUGE RECEPTOR (GHSR) THROUGH BISULFITE PYROSEQUENCING. THE DEGREE OF ABERRANT METHYLATION WAS CAPABLE OF ACCURATE DISCRIMINATION BETWEEN CANCER AND CONTROL SAMPLES. THE HIGHEST SENSITIVITY AND SPECIFICITY OF CANCER DETECTION WAS ACHIEVED FOR CANCERS OF PANCREAS, LUNG, BREAST AND CLL YIELDING THE AREA UNDER THE CURVE (AUC) VALUES OF 1.0000, 0.9952, 0.9800 AND 0.9400, RESPECTIVELY. NARROWING TO A SINGLE CPG SITE WITHIN THE GENE'S PROMOTER OR FOUR CONSECUTIVE CPG UNITS OF THE HIGHEST METHYLATION LEVELS WITHIN THE FIRST EXON IMPROVED THE DETECTION POWER. GHSR HYPERMETHYLATION WAS DETECTED ALREADY AT THE EARLY STAGE TUMORS. THE ACCURATE PERFORMANCE OF THIS MARKER WAS FURTHER REPLICATED IN AN INDEPENDENT SET OF PANCREATIC CANCER AND CONTROL SAMPLES (N = 78). THESE FINDINGS SUPPORT THE CANDIDATURE OF GHSR METHYLATION AS A HIGHLY ACCURATE PAN-CANCER MARKER. 2015 12 2714 31 EXERCISE-CONDITIONED PLASMA ATTENUATES NUCLEAR CONCENTRATIONS OF DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE 3B IN HUMAN PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS. DNA METHYLATION IS MODIFIABLE BY ACUTE AND CHRONIC EXERCISE. DNA METHYLTRANSFERASES (DNMT) CATALYZE THIS PROCESS; HOWEVER, THERE IS A LACK OF LITERATURE CONCERNING THE SPECIFIC MECHANISMS BY WHICH EXERCISE-INDUCED MODIFICATIONS OCCUR. INTERLEUKIN 6 (IL-6) STIMULATION OF VARIOUS CELL LINES HAS BEEN SHOWN TO AUGMENT DNMT EXPRESSION AND NUCLEAR TRANSLOCATION, WHICH SUGGESTS A POSSIBLE PATHWAY BY WHICH EXERCISE IS ABLE TO ELICIT CHANGES IN EPIGENETIC ENZYMES. THE PRESENT STUDY SOUGHT TO ELUCIDATE THE RESPONSE OF THE DE NOVO METHYLTRANSFERASES DNMT3A AND DNMT3B TO CIRCULATORY FACTORS FOUND IN PLASMA ISOLATED FROM WHOLE BLOOD BEFORE AND AFTER 120-MIN OF TREADMILL RUNNING AT AN INTENSITY OF 60% OF INDIVIDUAL VELOCITY AT V O2MAX (VV O2MAX) INTERSPERSED WITH 30-SEC SPRINTS AT 90% OF VV O2MAX EVERY 10-MIN. PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS (PBMCS) ISOLATED FROM A RESTING PARTICIPANT WERE INCUBATED WITH PLASMA ISOLATED FROM EXERCISING PARTICIPANTS (N = 10) OR RECOMBINANT IL-6 (RIL-6), FOLLOWED BY NUCLEAR PROTEIN EXTRACTION AND QUANTIFICATION OF DNMT3A AND DNMT3B CONCENTRATIONS. NUCLEAR CONCENTRATIONS OF DNMT3B SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED FOLLOWING THE EXPERIMENTAL PROTOCOL (P = 0.03), WITH NO CHANGE OBSERVED IN DNMT3A (P = 0.514).VARIOUS CONCENTRATIONS OF RIL-6 CAUSED AN ELEVATION IN BOTH DNMT3A AND DNMT3B NUCLEAR CONCENTRATION COMPARED WITH THE BLANK CONTROL. THE CONFLICTING RESULTS BETWEEN EXERCISING AND RIL-6 CONDITIONS SUGGESTS THAT IL-6 DOES REGULATE DNMT NUCLEAR TRANSPORT, HOWEVER, OTHER PLASMA MEDIATORS MAY ALSO EXERT SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE ON THE NUCLEAR CONCENTRATIONS OF THESE ENZYMES. 2015 13 1121 23 COMPARISON OF EPIGENETIC PROFILES OF HUMAN ORAL EPITHELIAL CELLS FROM HIV-POSITIVE (ON HAART) AND HIV-NEGATIVE SUBJECTS. HIV-INFECTED SUBJECTS ON HIGHLY ACTIVE ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY (HAART) ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO COMORBID MICROBIAL INFECTIONS IN THE ORAL CAVITY. WE OBSERVED THAT PRIMARY ORAL EPITHELIAL CELLS (POECS) ISOLATED FROM HIV+ SUBJECTS ON HAART GROW MORE SLOWLY AND ARE LESS INNATE IMMUNE RESPONSIVE TO MICROBIAL CHALLENGE WHEN COMPARED WITH POECS FROM NORMAL SUBJECTS. THESE ABERRANT CELLS ALSO DEMONSTRATE EPIGENETIC DIFFERENCES THAT INCLUDE REDUCTION IN HISTONE DEACETYLASE 1 (HDAC-1) LEVELS AND REDUCED TOTAL DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE (DNMT) ACTIVITY SPECIFIC TO ENZYMES DNMT1 AND DNMT3A. THE DNMT ACTIVITY CORRELATES WELL WITH GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION, INDICATING THAT ABERRANT DNMT ACTIVITY IN HIV+ (ON HAART) POECS LEADS TO AN ABERRANTLY METHYLATED EPITHELIAL CELL PHENOTYPE. OVERALL, OUR RESULTS LEAD US TO HYPOTHESIZE THAT, IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HIV INFECTION ON HAART, EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN KEY GENES RESULT IN INCREASED VULNERABILITY TO MICROBIAL INFECTION IN THE ORAL CAVITY. 2013 14 5468 32 RESISTANCE TRAINING AND REDOX HOMEOSTASIS: CORRELATION WITH AGE-ASSOCIATED GENOMIC CHANGES. REGULAR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IS EFFECTIVE AS PREVENTION AND TREATMENT FOR DIFFERENT CHRONIC CONDITIONS RELATED TO THE AGEING PROCESSES. IN FACT, A SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE HAS BEEN LINKED TO A WORSENING OF CELLULAR AGEING BIOMARKERS SUCH AS TELOMERE LENGTH (TL) AND/OR SPECIFIC EPIGENETIC CHANGES (E.G. DNA METHYLATION), WITH INCREASE OF THE PROPENSITY TO AGING-RELATED DISEASES AND PREMATURE DEATH. EXTENDING OUR PREVIOUS FINDINGS, WE AIMED TO TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT 12 WEEKS OF LOW FREQUENCY, MODERATE INTENSITY, EXPLOSIVE-TYPE RESISTANCE TRAINING (EMRT) MAY ATTENUATE AGE-ASSOCIATED GENOMIC CHANGES. TO THIS AIM, TL, GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION, TRF2, KU80, SIRT1, SIRT2 AND GLOBAL PROTEIN ACETYLATION, AS WELL AS OTHER PROTEINS INVOLVED IN APOPTOTIC PATHWAY (BCL-2, BAX AND CASPASE-3), ANTIOXIDANT RESPONSE (TRXR1 AND MNSOD) AND OXIDATIVE DAMAGE (MYELOPEROXIDASE) WERE EVALUATED BEFORE AND AFTER EMRT IN WHOLE BLOOD OR PERIPHERAL MONONUCLEAR CELLS (PBMCS) OF ELDERLY SUBJECTS. OUR FINDINGS CONFIRM THE POTENTIAL OF EMRT TO INDUCE AN ADAPTIVE CHANGE IN THE ANTIOXIDANT PROTEIN SYSTEMS AT SYSTEMIC LEVEL AND SUGGEST A PUTATIVE ROLE OF RESISTANCE TRAINING IN THE REDUCTION OF GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION. MOREOVER, WE OBSERVED THAT EMRT COUNTERACTS THE TELOMERES' SHORTENING IN A MANNER THAT PROVED TO BE DIRECTLY CORRELATED WITH THE AMELIORATION OF REDOX HOMEOSTASIS AND EFFICACY OF TRAINING REGIME, EVALUATED AS IMPROVEMENT OF BOTH MUSCLE'S POWER/STRENGTH AND FUNCTIONAL PARAMETERS. 2016 15 4736 37 NOVEL EPIGENETIC BIOMARKERS MEDIATING BISPHENOL A EXPOSURE AND METABOLIC PHENOTYPES IN FEMALE MICE. THERE IS COMPELLING EVIDENCE THAT EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS LINK DEVELOPMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL INSULTS TO ADULT DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY. ANIMAL STUDIES HAVE ASSOCIATED PERINATAL BISPHENOL A (BPA) EXPOSURE TO ALTERED DNA METHYLATION, BUT THESE STUDIES ARE OFTEN LIMITED TO CANDIDATE GENE AND GLOBAL NON-LOCI-SPECIFIC APPROACHES. BY USING AN EPIGENOME-WIDE DISCOVERY PLATFORM, WE ELUCIDATED EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS IN LIVER TISSUE FROM ADULT MICE OFFSPRING (10 MONTHS) FOLLOWING PERINATAL BPA EXPOSURE AT HUMAN PHYSIOLOGICALLY RELEVANT DOSES (50-NG, 50-MUG, AND 50-MG BPA/KG DIET). BIOLOGICAL PATHWAY ANALYSIS IDENTIFIED AN ENRICHMENT OF SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENTIALLY METHYLATED REGIONS IN METABOLIC PATHWAYS AMONG FEMALES. FURTHERMORE, THROUGH THE USE OF TOP ENRICHED BIOLOGICAL PATHWAYS, 4 CANDIDATE GENES WERE CHOSEN TO ASSESS DNA METHYLATION AS A MEDIATING FACTOR LINKING THE ASSOCIATION OF PERINATAL BPA EXPOSURE TO METABOLIC PHENOTYPES PREVIOUSLY OBSERVED IN FEMALE OFFSPRING. DNA METHYLATION STATUS AT JANUS KINASE-2 (JAK-2), RETINOID X RECEPTOR (RXR), REGULATORY FACTOR X-ASSOCIATED PROTEIN (RFXAP), AND TRANSMEMBRANE PROTEIN 238 (TMEM238) WAS USED WITHIN A MEDIATIONAL REGRESSION ANALYSIS. DNA METHYLATION IN ALL FOUR OF THE CANDIDATE GENES WAS IDENTIFIED AS A MEDIATOR IN THE MECHANISTIC PATHWAY OF DEVELOPMENTAL BPA EXPOSURE AND FEMALE-SPECIFIC ENERGY EXPENDITURE, BODY WEIGHT, AND BODY FAT PHENOTYPES. DATA GENERATED FROM THIS STUDY ARE CRUCIAL FOR DECIPHERING THE MECHANISTIC ROLE OF EPIGENETICS IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF CHRONIC DISEASE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF EPIGENETIC-BASED PREVENTION AND THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES FOR COMPLEX HUMAN DISEASE. 2017 16 686 26 BRAIN-SPECIFIC GENES CONTRIBUTE TO CHRONIC BUT NOT TO ACUTE BACK PAIN. INTRODUCTION: BACK PAIN IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF DISABILITY WORLDWIDE. ALTHOUGH MOST BACK PAIN CASES ARE ACUTE, 20% OF ACUTE PAIN PATIENTS EXPERIENCE CHRONIC BACK PAIN SYMPTOMS. IT IS UNCLEAR WHETHER ACUTE PAIN AND CHRONIC PAIN HAVE SIMILAR OR DISTINCT UNDERLYING GENETIC MECHANISMS. OBJECTIVES: TO CHARACTERIZE THE MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR PATHWAYS CONTRIBUTING TO ACUTE AND CHRONIC PAIN STATES. METHODS: CROSS-SECTIONAL OBSERVATIONAL GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY. RESULTS: A TOTAL OF 375,158 INDIVIDUALS FROM THE UK BIOBANK COHORT WERE INCLUDED IN THE DISCOVERY OF GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY. OF THOSE, 70,633 (19%) AND 32,209 (9%) INDIVIDUALS MET THE DEFINITION OF CHRONIC AND ACUTE BACK PAIN, RESPECTIVELY. A TOTAL OF 355 SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISM GROUPED INTO 13 LOCI REACHED THE GENOME-WIDE SIGNIFICANCE THRESHOLD (5X10(-8)) FOR CHRONIC BACK PAIN, BUT NONE FOR ACUTE. OF THESE, 7 LOCI WERE REPLICATED IN THE NORD-TRONDELAG HEALTH STUDY (HUNT) COHORT (19,760 CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN CASES AND 28,674 PAIN-FREE CONTROLS). SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISM HERITABILITY WAS 4.6% (P=1.4X10(-78)) FOR CHRONIC BACK PAIN AND 0.81% (P=1.4X10-8) FOR ACUTE BACK PAIN. SIMILAR DIFFERENCES IN HERITABILITY ESTIMATES BETWEEN ACUTE AND CHRONIC BACK PAIN WERE FOUND IN THE HUNT COHORT: 3.4% (P=0.0011) AND 0.6% (P=0.851), RESPECTIVELY. PATHWAY ANALYSES, TISSUE-SPECIFIC HERITABILITY ENRICHMENT ANALYSES, AND EPIGENETIC CHARACTERIZATION SUGGEST A SUBSTANTIAL GENETIC CONTRIBUTION TO CHRONIC BUT NOT ACUTE BACK PAIN FROM THE LOCI PREDOMINANTLY EXPRESSED IN THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. CONCLUSION: CHRONIC BACK PAIN IS SUBSTANTIALLY MORE HERITABLE THAN ACUTE BACK PAIN. THIS HERITABILITY IS MOSTLY ATTRIBUTED TO GENES EXPRESSED IN THE BRAIN. 2022 17 489 30 ASSESSING POTENTIAL MECHANISMS OF ARSENIC-INDUCED SKIN LESIONS AND CANCERS: HUMAN AND IN VITRO EVIDENCE. ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE TO ARSENIC IS A MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH CHALLENGE WORLDWIDE. IN DETAILING THE HALLMARK SIGNS OF CHRONIC ARSENIC EXPOSURE, PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT EPIGENETIC AND IMMUNE DYSFUNCTION ARE ASSOCIATED WITH ARSENIC-INDUCED SKIN LESIONS; HOWEVER, KNOWLEDGE REGARDING INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE MECHANISMS LISTED ABOVE IS LIMITED. IN THIS STUDY, A TOTAL OF 106 SKIN SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS. BASED ON THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF HIGH ARSENIC EXPOSURE, THE PARTICIPANTS WERE DIVIDED INTO ARSENIC EXPOSURE (72) AND REFERENCE (34) GROUPS. ADDITIONALLY, THE ARSENIC EXPOSURE GROUP WAS FURTHER DIVIDED INTO THE NON-CANCER GROUP (31, INCLUDING SKIN HYPERPIGMENTATION AND HYPERKERATOSIS) AND THE SKIN CANCER GROUP (41, INCLUDING BOWEN'S DISEASE, BASAL CELL CARCINOMA AND SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA) ACCORDING TO A SKIN HISTOPATHOLOGICAL EXAMINATION. FIRST, THE ASSOCIATIONS AMONG MIR-155, NF-AT1 WITH IMMUNOLOGICAL DYSFUNCTION AND ARSENIC-INDUCED SKIN LESIONS AND CARCINOGENESIS WERE CONFIRMED USING THESE SKIN SAMPLES. IN THE ARSENIC-EXPOSED GROUP, MIR-155-5P, KERATIN 1(KRT1), KERATIN 10 (KRT10), AND KERATIN 6C (KRT6C) WERE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IN THE SKIN (P < 0.05), WHILE NF-AT1, INTERLEUKIN-2 (IL-2), AND INTERFERON-GAMMA (IFN-GAMMA) WERE SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED (P < 0.05). CLEAR CORRELATIONS WERE OBSERVED AMONG THESE FACTORS (P < 0.05). IN IMMORTALIZED HUMAN KERATINOCYTES, SILENCING AND OVEREXPRESSION OF NF-AT1 COULD ALTER THE EXPRESSION AND SECRETION OF IMMUNOLOGICAL DYSFUNCTION INDICATORS (IL-2 AND IFN-GAMMA) THAT ARE INDUCED BY ARSENIC EXPOSURE (P < 0.05); HOWEVER, MIR-155-5P LEVELS DID NOT CHANGE SIGNIFICANTLY (P > 0.05). THE MIR-155-5P MIMIC AND INHIBITOR COULD REGULATE THE NF-AT1-MEDIATED IMMUNOLOGICAL DYSFUNCTION CAUSED BY ARSENIC (P < 0.05). OUR STUDY PROVIDES SOME LIMITED EVIDENCE THAT MIR-155-5P REGULATES THE NF-AT1-MEDIATED IMMUNOLOGICAL DYSFUNCTION THAT IS INVOLVED IN THE PATHOGENESIS AND CARCINOGENESIS OF ARSENIC. THE SECOND MAJOR FINDING WAS THAT KRT1 AND KRT10 ARE MARKERS OF HYPERKERATOSIS CAUSED BY ARSENIC, AND KRT6C IS A POTENTIAL BIOMARKER THAT CAN REFLECT ARSENIC CARCINOGENESIS. 2020 18 3296 28 HIGH RESOLUTION INTEGRATIVE ANALYSIS REVEALS WIDESPREAD GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES AFTER CHRONIC IN-VITRO ACID AND BILE EXPOSURE IN BARRETT'S EPITHELIUM CELLS. BARRETT'S EPITHELIUM (BE) IS A PREMALIGNANT CONDITION RESULTING FROM CHRONIC GASTROESOPHAGEAL REFLUX THAT MAY PROGRESS TO ESOPHAGEAL ADENOCARCINOMA (EAC). EARLY INTERVENTION HOLDS PROMISE IN PREVENTING BE PROGRESSION. HOWEVER, IDENTIFICATION OF HIGH-RISK BE PATIENTS REMAINS CHALLENGING DUE TO INADEQUATE BIOMARKERS FOR EARLY DIAGNOSIS. WE INVESTIGATED THE EFFECT OF PROLONGED CHRONIC ACID AND BILE EXPOSURE ON TRANSCRIPTOME, METHYLOME, AND MUTATOME OF CELLS IN AN IN-VITRO BE CARCINOGENESIS (BEC) MODEL. TWENTY WEEKS ACID AND BILE EXPOSED CELLS FROM THE BEC MODEL (BEC20W) WERE COMPARED WITH THEIR NAIVE PREDECESSORS HISEQ ILLUMINA BASED RNA SEQUENCING WAS PERFORMED ON RNA FROM BOTH THE CELLS FOR GENE EXPRESSION AND MUTATIONAL ANALYSIS. HELP TAGGING ASSAY WAS PERFORMED FOR DNA METHYLATION ANALYSIS. INGENUITY PATHWAY, GENE ONTOLOGY, AND KEGG PATHWAY ANALYSES WERE THEN PERFORMED ON DATASETS. WIDESPREAD ABERRANT GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES WERE OBSERVED IN THE BEC20W CELLS. COMBINATORIAL ANALYSES REVEALED 433 FROM A TOTAL OF 863 DOWNREGULATED GENES HAD ACCOMPANYING HYPERMETHYLATION OF PROMOTERS. SIMULTANEOUSLY, 690 GENES FROM A TOTAL OF 1,492 WERE UPREGULATED WITH ACCOMPANYING PROMOTER HYPOMETHYLATION. IN ADDITION, 763 MUTATIONS WERE IDENTIFIED ON 637 GENES. INGENUITY PATHWAY ANALYSIS, GENE ONTOLOGY, AND KEGG PATHWAY ANALYSES ASSOCIATED THE GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN BEC20W CELLS WITH CELLULAR AND BIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS. INTEGRATION OF HIGH RESOLUTION COMPARATIVE ANALYSES OF NAIVE BAR-T AND BEC20W CELLS REVEALED STRIKING GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES INDUCED BY CHRONIC ACID AND BILE EXPOSURE THAT MAY DISRUPT NORMAL CELLULAR FUNCTIONS AND PROMOTE CARCINOGENESIS. THIS NOVEL STUDY REVEALS SEVERAL POTENTIAL TARGETS FOR FUTURE BIOMARKERS AND THERAPEUTIC DEVELOPMENT. 2013 19 5205 29 PRENATAL STRESS CHANGES THE GLYCOPROTEIN GPM6A GENE EXPRESSION AND INDUCES EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN RAT OFFSPRING BRAIN. PRENATAL STRESS (PS) EXERTS STRONG IMPACT ON FETAL BRAIN DEVELOPMENT AND ON ADULT OFFSPRING BRAIN FUNCTIONS. PREVIOUS WORK DEMONSTRATED THAT CHRONIC STRESS ALTERS THE MRNA EXPRESSION OF GPM6A, A NEURONAL GLYCOPROTEIN INVOLVED IN FILOPODIUM EXTENSION. IN THIS WORK, WE ANALYZED THE EFFECT OF PS ON GPM6A EXPRESSION AND THE EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS INVOLVED. PREGNANT WISTAR RATS RECEIVED RESTRAINT STRESS DURING THE LAST WEEK OF GESTATION. MALE OFFSPRING WERE SACRIFICED ON POSTNATAL DAYS 28 AND 60. HIPPOCAMPUS AND PREFRONTAL CORTEX SAMPLES WERE ANALYZED FOR GENE EXPRESSION (QPCR FOR MRNAS AND MICRORNAS), METHYLATION STATUS (BISULFITE CONVERSION) AND PROTEIN LEVELS. HIPPOCAMPAL NEURONS IN CULTURE WERE USED TO ANALYZE MICRORNA OVEREXPRESSION EFFECTS. PRENATAL STRESS INDUCED CHANGES IN GPM6A LEVELS IN BOTH TISSUES AND AT BOTH AGES ANALYZED, INDICATING A PERSISTENT EFFECT. TWO CPG ISLANDS IN THE GPM6A GENE WERE IDENTIFIED. VARIATIONS IN THE METHYLATION PATTERN AT THREE SPECIFIC CPGS WERE FOUND IN HIPPOCAMPUS, BUT NOT IN PFC SAMPLES FROM PS OFFSPRING. MICRORNAS PREDICTED TO TARGET GPM6A WERE IDENTIFIED IN SILICO. QPCR MEASUREMENTS SHOWED THAT PS MODIFIED THE EXPRESSION OF SEVERAL MICRORNAS IN BOTH TISSUES, BEING MICRORNA-133B THE MOST SIGNIFICANTLY ALTERED. FURTHER STUDIES OVEREXPRESSING THIS MICRORNA IN NEURONAL CULTURES SHOWED A REDUCTION IN GMP6A MRNA AND PROTEIN LEVEL. MOREOVER FILOPODIUM DENSITY WAS ALSO REDUCED, SUGGESTING THAT GPM6A FUNCTION WAS AFFECTED. GESTATIONAL STRESS AFFECTED GPM6A GENE EXPRESSION IN OFFSPRING LIKELY THROUGH CHANGES IN METHYLATION STATUS AND IN POSTTRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION BY MICRORNAS. THUS, OUR FINDINGS PROPOSE GPM6A AS A NOVEL TARGET FOR EPIGENETIC REGULATION DURING PRENATAL STRESS. 2014 20 6081 34 THE EFFECT OF FOXO GENE FAMILY VARIANTS AND GLOBAL DNA METYLATION ON RRMS DISEASE. MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS IS A CHRONIC DISEASE THAT USUALLY OCCURS WITH EXACERBATIONS AND REMISSIONS IN YOUNG ADULTS, AFFECTS THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM WHITE MATTER IN MULTIPLE LOCALIZATION, AND IS THOUGHT TO BE THE RESULT OF COMPLEX INTERACTIONS OF GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, THE MOST COMMON FORM IS RELAPSING-REMITTING MS. FORKHEAD TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS O CLASS (FOXO) ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REGULATION OF VARIOUS CELLULAR PROCESSES INCLUDING CELL CYCLE, APOPTOSIS, DNA REPAIR, CELLULAR RESISTANCE AND METABOLISM. DNA METHYLATION IS SUCH AN EPIGENETIC CHANGE AND HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH ALMOST ANY BIOLOGICAL PROCESS. THE AIM OF OUR STUDY TO SHOW THE RELATION BETWEEN THE GENETIC VARIANTS OF FOXO3A (RS2253310 RS4966936) AND FOXO1 (RS3900833, RS4581585) AND GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION IN RRMS. WE ANALYZED DNA OBTAINED FROM 79 RRMS PATIENTS AND 104 HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS BY PCR-RFLP METHOD FOR THE DETECTION OF GENETIC VARIANTS. FOR THE DETERMINATION OF GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION, RESULTS WERE OBTAINED USING ELISA METHOD. THE DATA WERE EVALUATED STATISTICALLY. AS A RESULT OF OUR ANALYSIS; GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION IS HIGHER IN RRMS PATIENTS COMPARED TO CONTROL INDIVIDUALS AND IT CAN BE EFFECTIVE ON THE DISEASE. IN ADDITION, IT HAS BEEN DETERMINED THAT VARIANTS OF FOXO3A (RS2253310, RS4966936) AND FOXO1 (RS3900833), WHICH HAVE BEEN GENOTYPED, MAY BE EFFECTIVE IN DISEASE PATHOGENESIS. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT DNAMETHYLATION AND FOXO GENE VARIANTS MAY BE EFFECTIVE IN NEURONAL LOSS IN RRMS. 2020