ResearchIn-Press PreviewGeneticsImmunology
Open Access | 10.1172/jci.insight.143058
1Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford Universit, Stanford University, Stanford, United States of America
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1Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford Universit, Stanford University, Stanford, United States of America
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1Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford Universit, Stanford University, Stanford, United States of America
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1Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford Universit, Stanford University, Stanford, United States of America
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Bunning, B.
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1Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford Universit, Stanford University, Stanford, United States of America
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1Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford Universit, Stanford University, Stanford, United States of America
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1Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford Universit, Stanford University, Stanford, United States of America
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1Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford Universit, Stanford University, Stanford, United States of America
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Sampath, V.
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1Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford Universit, Stanford University, Stanford, United States of America
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Published February 11, 2021 - More info
DNA methylation (DNAm) has been shown to play a role in mediating food allergy, however, the mechanism by which it does so is poorly understood. In this study, we used targeted NextGen bisulfite sequencing to evaluate DNAm levels in 125 targeted highly informative genomic regions containing 602 CpG sites on 70 immune-related genes to understand whether DNAm can differentiate peanut allergy (PA) vs non-allergy (NA). We found PA-associated DNAm signatures associated with 12 genes (7 novel to food allergy, 3 associated with Th1/Th2, and 2 associated with innate immunity) as well as DNAm signature combinations with superior diagnostic potential compared to serum peanut specific-IgE for PA vs. NA. Further, we found that following peanut protein stimulation, peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMCs) from PA participants showed increased production of cognate cytokines compared to NA participants. The varying responses between PA and NA participants may be associated with the interaction between the modification of DNAm and the interference of environment. Using Euclidean distance analysis, we found that the distances of methylation profile comprising 12 DNAm signatures between PA and NA pairs in monozygotic (MZ) twins were smaller than that in randomly paired genetically unrelated individuals, suggesting that PA related DNAm signatures may be associated with genetic factors.