Analysis of transcriptional changes in the immune system associated with pubertal development in a longitudinal cohort of children with asthma.
Justyna A ResztakJane ChoeShreya NirmalanJulong WeiJulian BruinsmaRussell HouptAdnan AlaziziHenriette E Mair-MeijersXiaoquan WenRichard B SlatcherSamuele ZilioliRoger Pique-RegiFrancesca LucaPublished in: Nature communications (2023)
Puberty is an important developmental period marked by hormonal, metabolic and immune changes. Puberty also marks a shift in sex differences in susceptibility to asthma. Yet, little is known about the gene expression changes in immune cells that occur during pubertal development. Here we assess pubertal development and leukocyte gene expression in a longitudinal cohort of 251 children with asthma. We identify substantial gene expression changes associated with age and pubertal development. Gene expression changes between pre- and post-menarcheal females suggest a shift from predominantly innate to adaptive immunity. We show that genetic effects on gene expression change dynamically during pubertal development. Gene expression changes during puberty are correlated with gene expression changes associated with asthma and may explain sex differences in prevalence. Our results show that molecular data used to study the genetics of early onset diseases should consider pubertal development as an important factor that modifies the transcriptome.
Keyphrases
- gene expression
- dna methylation
- early onset
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- lung function
- immune response
- genome wide
- young adults
- metabolic syndrome
- adipose tissue
- type diabetes
- oxidative stress
- cystic fibrosis
- machine learning
- transcription factor
- insulin resistance
- electronic health record
- deep learning
- single molecule
- heat shock