Systemic Steroid Exposure Is Associated with Differential Methylation in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Rationale: Systemic glucocorticoids are used therapeutically to treat a variety of medical conditions. Epigenetic processes such as DNA methylation may reflect exposure to glucocorticoids and may be involved in mediating the responses and side effects associated with these medications

Variable DNA Methylation Is Associated with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Lung Function

Rationale: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with local (lung) and systemic (blood) inflammation and manifestations. DNA methylation is an important regulator of gene transcription, and global and specific gene methylation marks may vary with cigarette smoke exposure. Objectives:Toperformacomprehensive assessmentofmethylationmarks in DNA from subjects well phenotyped for nonneoplastic lung disease. Methods: We conducted array-based methylation screens, using a test-replication approach, in two family-based cohorts (n ¼ 1,085 and 369 subjects). Measurements and Main Results: We observed 349 CpG sites significantly associated with the presence and severity of COPD in both cohorts. Seventy percent of the associated CpG sites were outside of CpG islands, with the majority of CpG sites relatively hypomethylated. Gene ontology analysis based on these 349 CpGs (330 genes) suggested the involvement of a number of genes responsible for immune and inflammatory system pathways, responses to stress and external stimuli, as well as wound healing and coagulation cascades. Interestingly, our observations include significant, replicable associations between SERPINA1 hypomethylation and COPD and lower average lung function phenotypes (combined P values: COPD, 1.5 3 10223; FEV1/FVC, 1.5 3 10235; FEV1, 2.2 3 10240). Conclusions: Genetic and epigenetic pathways may both contribute to COPD. Many of the top associations between COPD and DNA methylation occur in biologically plausible pathways. This largescale analysis suggests that DNA methylation may be a biomarker of COPD and may highlight new pathways of COPD pathogenesis

Inhibiting Stearoyl-CoA Desaturase Ameliorates α-Synuclein Cytotoxicity

Summary: The lack of disease-modifying treatments for neurodegenerative disease stems in part from our rudimentary understanding of disease mechanisms and the paucity of targets for therapeutic intervention. Here we used an integrated discovery paradigm to identify a new therapeutic target for diseases caused by α-synuclein (α-syn), a small lipid-binding protein that misfolds and aggregates in Parkinson’s disease and other disorders. Using unbiased phenotypic screening, we identified a series of compounds that were cytoprotective against α-syn-mediated toxicity by inhibiting the highly conserved enzyme stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD). Critically, reducing the levels of unsaturated membrane lipids by inhibiting SCD reduced α-syn toxicity in human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) neuronal models. Taken together, these findings suggest that inhibition of fatty acid desaturation has potential as a therapeutic approach for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and other synucleinopathies. : There are no treatments that target the underlying cause of synucleinopathies such as Parkinson’s disease. Using unbiased small-molecule phenotypic screening in yeast, Vincent et al. identify a potential therapeutic target, stearoyl-CoA desaturase (Ole1/SCD). Inhibiting SCD in human-derived neurons enhances their survival in the prescence of toxic α-synuclein. Keywords: α-synuclein, Parkinson’s disease, stearoyl-CoA desaturase, fatty acid desaturation, phenotypic drug screen, target identification, chemical genetics, vesicle traffickin