DNA methylation signatures of illicit drug injection and hepatitis C are associated with HIV frailty

Nat Commun. 2017 Dec 21;8(1):2243. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-02326-1.

Abstract

Intravenous illicit drug use (IDU) and hepatitis C infection (HCV) commonly co-occur among HIV-infected individuals. These co-occurring conditions may produce interacting epigenetic effects in white blood cells that influence immune function and health outcomes. Here, we report an epigenome-wide association analysis comparing IDU+/ HCV+ and IDU-/HCV- in 386 HIV-infected individuals as a discovery sample and in 412 individuals as a replication sample. We observe 6 significant CpGs in the promoters of 4 genes, NLRC5, TRIM69, CX3CR1, and BCL9, in the discovery sample and in meta-analysis. We identify 19 differentially methylated regions on chromosome 6 harboring MHC gene clusters. Importantly, a panel of IDU+/HCV+-associated CpGs discriminated HIV frailty based upon a validated index with an area under the curve of 79.3% for high frailty and 82.3% for low frailty. These findings suggest that IDU and HCV involve epigenetic programming and that their associated methylation signatures discriminate HIV pathophysiologic frailty.

Publication types

  • Meta-Analysis
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Chromosomes, Human, Pair 5
  • Cohort Studies
  • CpG Islands
  • DNA Methylation*
  • Epigenesis, Genetic*
  • Frailty / genetics
  • Frailty / virology
  • Genetic Markers
  • Genome-Wide Association Study
  • HIV Infections / complications
  • HIV Infections / genetics*
  • HIV Infections / physiopathology*
  • Hepatitis C / complications
  • Hepatitis C / genetics*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Substance Abuse, Intravenous / genetics*

Substances

  • Genetic Markers