Premium
DNA methylation and allergic sensitizations: A genome‐scale longitudinal study during adolescence
Author(s) -
Zhang Hongmei,
Kaushal Akhilesh,
Merid Simon Kebede,
Melén Erik,
Pershagen Göran,
Rezwan Faisal I.,
Han Luhang,
Ewart Susan,
Arshad S. Hasan,
Karmaus Wilfried,
Holloway John W.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
allergy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.363
H-Index - 173
eISSN - 1398-9995
pISSN - 0105-4538
DOI - 10.1111/all.13746
Subject(s) - sensitization , dna methylation , medicine , immunology , asthma , allergy , atopy , cohort , biology , genetics , gene , gene expression
Background The presence of allergic sensitization has a major influence on the development and course of common childhood conditions such as asthma and rhinitis. The etiology of allergic sensitization is poorly understood, and its underlying biological mechanisms are not well established. Several studies showed that DNA methylation ( DNA m) at some CpGs is associated with allergic sensitization. However, no studies have focused on the critical adolescence period. Methods We assessed the association of pre‐ and postadolescence genome‐wide DNA m with allergic sensitization against indoor, outdoor and food allergens, using linear mixed models. We hypothesized that DNA m is associated with sensitization in general, and with poly‐sensitization status, and these associations are age‐ and gender‐specific. We tested these hypotheses in the IoW cohort (n = 376) and examined the findings in the BAMSE cohort (n = 267). Results Via linear mixed models, we identified 35 CpGs in IoW associated with allergic sensitization (at false discovery rate of 0.05), of which 33 were available in BAMSE and replicated with respect to the direction of associations with allergic sensitization. At the 35 CpGs except for cg19210306 on C13orf27 , a reduction in methylation among atopic subjects was observed, most notably for cg21220721 and cg11699125 ( ACOT 7 ). DNA m at cg10159529 was strongly correlated with expression of IL 5 RA in peripheral blood ( P ‐value = 6.76 × 10 −20 ). Three CpGs (cg14121142, cg23842695, and cg26496795) were identified in IoW with age‐specific association between DNA m and allergic sensitization. Conclusion In adolescence, the status of allergic sensitization was associated with DNA m differentiation and at some CpGs the association is likely to be age‐specific.