Characterization of genome-wide H3K27ac profiles reveals a distinct PM2.5-associated histone modification signature.
BACKGROUND
Current studies of environmental health suggest a link between air pollution components, such as particulate matter (PM), and various diseases. However, the specific genes and regulatory mechanisms implicated in PM-induced diseases remain largely unknown. Epigenetic systems such as covalent modification of histones in chromatin may mediate environmental factors in gene regulation. Investigating the relationships between PM exposure and histone modification status may help understand the mechanisms underlying environment-associated health conditions.


METHODS
In this study, we obtained genome-wide profiles of H3K27ac (histone 3 lysine 27 acetylation), known to be an active gene regulatory histone modification marker, in blood samples collected from four Chinese individuals exposed to high or low PM2.5 (particles with diameters up to 2.5 μm).


RESULTS
The genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-Seq) data indicated a comprehensive differential H3K27ac landscape across the individual genomes, which was associated with high PM2.5. Moreover, a substantial number of these PM2.5-associated differential H3K27ac markers were in genes involved in immune cell activation, potentially linking these epigenetic changes with air pollution-induced immune and inflammatory responses.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study provides the first genome-wide characterization of H3K27ac profiles in individuals subjected to different exposure levels of PM2.5. Future systematic investigations of the relationships between air pollutants and histone modifications in large population samples are warranted to elucidate the contributions of histone modifications to environment-associated diseases.
Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA. cliu55@uic.edu.
Cong
C
Liu
Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China. xuxu@bjmu.edu.cn.
Junhui
J
Xu
Respiratory Department, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China. chenyahong@vip.sina.com.
Yahong
Y
Chen
Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China. guoxb@163.com.
Xinbiao
X
Guo
Institute for Public Health and Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA. yinanzheng2011@u.northwestern.edu.
Yinan
Y
Zheng
Key Laboratory of Genomic and Precision Medicine, Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China. wangqf@big.ac.cn.
Qianfei
Q
Wang
Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China. nicholaschan988@126.com.
Yiyong
Y
Chen
Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China. ni1989yang@163.com.
Yang
Y
Ni
Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China. zhuyidan1105@126.com.
Yidan
Y
Zhu
Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA. b-joyce@northwestern.edu.|Division of Epidemiology/Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA. b-joyce@northwestern.edu.
Brian Thomas
BT
Joyce
Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. abaccare@hsph.harvard.edu.
Andrea
A
Baccarelli
Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China. lotus321321@126.com.
Furong
F
Deng
Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA. wei.zhang1@northwestern.edu.|The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 680 N. Lake Shore Dr., Suite 1400, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA. wei.zhang1@northwestern.edu.
Wei
W
Zhang
Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA. l-hou@northwestern.edu.|The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 680 N. Lake Shore Dr., Suite 1400, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA. l-hou@northwestern.edu.
Lifang
L
Hou
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D000068476:Beijing; D047369:Chromatin Immunoprecipitation; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D005819:Genetic Markers / Q000187:drug effects; D042421:Histone Code / Q000187:drug effects; D006657:Histones / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D010316:Particle Size; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000633:toxicity*; D059467:Transcriptome / Q000187:drug effects*
D000393:Air Pollutants; D005819:Genetic Markers; D006657:Histones; D052638:Particulate Matter