DNA methylation signatures of autoimmune diseases in human B lymphocytes

B lymphocytes play key roles in adaptive and innate immunity. In autoimmune diseases, their participation in disease instigation and/or progression has been demonstrated in both experimental models and clinical trials. Recent epigenetic investigations of human B lymphocyte subsets revealed the importance of DNA methylation in exquisitely regulating the cellular activation and differentiation programs. This review discusses recent advances on the potential of DNA methylation to shape events that impart generation of plasma cells and memory B cells, providing novel insight into homeostatic regulation of the immune system. In parallel, epigenetic profiling of B cells from patients with systemic or organo-specific autoimmune diseases disclosed distinctive differential methylation regions that, in some cases, could stratify patients from controls. Development of tools for editing DNA methylation in the mammalian genome could be useful for future functional studies of epigenetic regulation by offering the possibility to edit locus-specific methylation, with potential translational applications.