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Chronic exposure to water pollutant trichloroethylene increased epigenetic drift in CD4(+) T cells
Kathleen M Gilbert1, Sarah J Blossom1, Stephen W Erickson1
1Departments of Microbiology & Immunology, & Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute, Little Rock, AR 72202, USA.
Aim:
Autoimmune disease and CD4(+) T-cell alterations are induced in mice exposed to the water pollutant trichloroethylene (TCE). We examined here whether TCE altered gene-specific DNA methylation in CD4(+) T cells as a possible mechanism of immunotoxicity.
Materials & Methods:
Naive and effector/memory CD4(+) T cells from mice exposed to TCE (0.5 mg/ml in drinking water) for 40 weeks were examined by bisulfite next-generation DNA sequencing.
Results:
A probabilistic model calculated from multiple genes showed that TCE decreased methylation control in CD4(+) T cells. Data from individual genes fitted to a quadratic regression model showed that TCE increased gene-specific methylation variance in both CD4 subsets.
Conclusion:
TCE increased epigenetic drift of specific CpG sites in CD4(+) T cells.
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