Epigenetic landscape of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine and associations with gene expression in placenta

5-hydroxymethylcystosine (5hmC), is an intermediate product in the DNA demethylation pathway, but may act as a functional epigenetic modification. We have conducted the largest study of site-specific 5hmC in placenta to date using parallel bisulphite and oxidative bisulphite modification with array-...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Michael Mortillo, Elizabeth M. Kennedy, Karen E. Hermetz, Amber A. Burt, Carmen J. Marsit
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024-12-01
Series:Epigenetics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15592294.2024.2326869
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846136310376431616
author Michael Mortillo
Elizabeth M. Kennedy
Karen E. Hermetz
Amber A. Burt
Carmen J. Marsit
author_facet Michael Mortillo
Elizabeth M. Kennedy
Karen E. Hermetz
Amber A. Burt
Carmen J. Marsit
author_sort Michael Mortillo
collection DOAJ
description 5-hydroxymethylcystosine (5hmC), is an intermediate product in the DNA demethylation pathway, but may act as a functional epigenetic modification. We have conducted the largest study of site-specific 5hmC in placenta to date using parallel bisulphite and oxidative bisulphite modification with array-based assessment. Incorporating parallel RNA-sequencing data allowed us to assess associations between 5hmC and gene expression, using expression quantitative trait hydroxymethylation (eQTHM) analysis. We identified ~ 47,000 loci with consistently elevated (systematic) 5hmC proportions. Systematic 5hmC was significantly depleted (p < 0.0001) at CpG islands (CGI), and enriched (p < 0.0001) in ‘open sea’ regions (CpG >4 kb from CGI). 5hmC was most and least abundant at CpGs in enhancers and active transcription start sites (TSS), respectively (p < 0.05). We identified 499 significant (empirical-p <0.05) eQTHMs within 1 MB of the assayed gene. At most (75.4%) eQTHMs, the proportion of 5hmC was positively correlated with transcript abundance. eQTHMs were significantly enriched among enhancer CpGs and depleted among CpGs in active TSS (p < 0.05 for both). Finally, we identified 107 differentially hydroxymethylated regions (DHMRs, p < 0.05) across 100 genes. Our study provides insight into placental distribution of 5hmC, and sheds light on the functional capacity of this epigenetic modification in placenta.
format Article
id doaj-art-37b37fb99ca64922b632e1120751f889
institution Kabale University
issn 1559-2294
1559-2308
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Taylor & Francis Group
record_format Article
series Epigenetics
spelling doaj-art-37b37fb99ca64922b632e1120751f8892024-12-09T07:21:35ZengTaylor & Francis GroupEpigenetics1559-22941559-23082024-12-0119110.1080/15592294.2024.2326869Epigenetic landscape of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine and associations with gene expression in placentaMichael Mortillo0Elizabeth M. Kennedy1Karen E. Hermetz2Amber A. Burt3Carmen J. Marsit4Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USAGangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USAGangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USAGangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USAGangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA5-hydroxymethylcystosine (5hmC), is an intermediate product in the DNA demethylation pathway, but may act as a functional epigenetic modification. We have conducted the largest study of site-specific 5hmC in placenta to date using parallel bisulphite and oxidative bisulphite modification with array-based assessment. Incorporating parallel RNA-sequencing data allowed us to assess associations between 5hmC and gene expression, using expression quantitative trait hydroxymethylation (eQTHM) analysis. We identified ~ 47,000 loci with consistently elevated (systematic) 5hmC proportions. Systematic 5hmC was significantly depleted (p < 0.0001) at CpG islands (CGI), and enriched (p < 0.0001) in ‘open sea’ regions (CpG >4 kb from CGI). 5hmC was most and least abundant at CpGs in enhancers and active transcription start sites (TSS), respectively (p < 0.05). We identified 499 significant (empirical-p <0.05) eQTHMs within 1 MB of the assayed gene. At most (75.4%) eQTHMs, the proportion of 5hmC was positively correlated with transcript abundance. eQTHMs were significantly enriched among enhancer CpGs and depleted among CpGs in active TSS (p < 0.05 for both). Finally, we identified 107 differentially hydroxymethylated regions (DHMRs, p < 0.05) across 100 genes. Our study provides insight into placental distribution of 5hmC, and sheds light on the functional capacity of this epigenetic modification in placenta.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15592294.2024.2326869Hydroxymethylationgene expressioneQTHMplacenta
spellingShingle Michael Mortillo
Elizabeth M. Kennedy
Karen E. Hermetz
Amber A. Burt
Carmen J. Marsit
Epigenetic landscape of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine and associations with gene expression in placenta
Epigenetics
Hydroxymethylation
gene expression
eQTHM
placenta
title Epigenetic landscape of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine and associations with gene expression in placenta
title_full Epigenetic landscape of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine and associations with gene expression in placenta
title_fullStr Epigenetic landscape of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine and associations with gene expression in placenta
title_full_unstemmed Epigenetic landscape of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine and associations with gene expression in placenta
title_short Epigenetic landscape of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine and associations with gene expression in placenta
title_sort epigenetic landscape of 5 hydroxymethylcytosine and associations with gene expression in placenta
topic Hydroxymethylation
gene expression
eQTHM
placenta
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15592294.2024.2326869
work_keys_str_mv AT michaelmortillo epigeneticlandscapeof5hydroxymethylcytosineandassociationswithgeneexpressioninplacenta
AT elizabethmkennedy epigeneticlandscapeof5hydroxymethylcytosineandassociationswithgeneexpressioninplacenta
AT karenehermetz epigeneticlandscapeof5hydroxymethylcytosineandassociationswithgeneexpressioninplacenta
AT amberaburt epigeneticlandscapeof5hydroxymethylcytosineandassociationswithgeneexpressioninplacenta
AT carmenjmarsit epigeneticlandscapeof5hydroxymethylcytosineandassociationswithgeneexpressioninplacenta