«We were surprised that the exhausted T
cell epigenetic profile was not reprogrammed,» Wherry said.
Not exact matches
The
Epigenetics Research group used these
cells to perform genome - wide
profiling across more than 20,000 individual genes in these patients.
«What these new findings on exhausted T
cells tells us is that the unique
epigenetic profile of exhausted T
cells causes these
cells to express a different overall set of genes compared to memory or effector T
cells,» Wherry said.
The team found that exhausted T
cells acquired an
epigenetic profile distinct from effector or memory T
cells.
In this study, published in the journal
Cell Reports, and led by Dr. Esteban Ballestar (IDIBELL), the comparison of the
epigenetic profiles between dendritic
cells and myeloid - derived suppressor
cells has allowed them to identify the existence of specific
epigenetic alterations that associated with the development of myeloid - derived suppressor
cells as a result of exposure to prostaglandin E2.
Since HIV infection itself alters
epigenetic processes in the immune system, the research team wondered whether a distinct DNA methylation
profile, a major
epigenetic modification where methyl groups are added to DNA, occurs in those with HIV associated - cognitive impairment and whether it exists in distinct immune
cell populations from the blood.
Current explorations into the molecular underpinnings of
cell circuitry are leveraging multiple data types including expression
profiling and
epigenetic analysis leveraging RNA - seq and CHiP - Seq coupled with molecular markers and cellular phenotypes.
A number of recent articles, however, have reported that hiPSCs are, in fact, notably distinct from human embryonic stem
cells in terms of their gene expression,
epigenetic profile, proliferative capacity and the susceptibility of their differentiated progeny to cellular senescence and apoptosis [3 — 6].
Another group investigated CD8 + T
cells, and found that babies had
epigenetic and gene expression
profiles that resembled those of innate immune
cells, which «may provide a partial explanation for infants» higher susceptibility to infectious pathogens,» GenomeWeb reported.
Causes and consequences of
epigenetic changes, transcriptional
profile modulation and new genetic
profiles drive the single
cell towards its destiny, contributing to the complexity of the multicellular organism or
cell colony.
De Jager said that researchers are devising ways to eke out
epigenetic profiles from single
cells, which would ultimately simplify the comparison of different neuronal types.