DNA Methylation Levels in Mononuclear Leukocytes from the Mother and Her Child Are Associated with IgE Sensitization to Allergens in Early Life.

DNA methylation changes may predispose becoming IgE-sensitized to allergens. We analyzed whether DNA methylation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) is associated with IgE sensitization at 5 years of age (5Y). DNA methylation was measured in 288 PBMC samples from 74 mother/child pairs from the birth cohort ALADDIN (Assessment of Lifestyle and Allergic Disease During INfancy) using the HumanMethylation450BeadChip (Illumina). PBMCs were obtained from the mothers during pregnancy and from their children in cord blood, at 2 years and 5Y. DNA methylation levels at each time point were compared between children with and without IgE sensitization to allergens at 5Y. For replication, CpG sites associated with IgE sensitization in ALADDIN were evaluated in whole blood DNA of 256 children, 4 years old, from the BAMSE (Swedish abbreviation for Children, Allergy, Milieu, Stockholm, Epidemiology) cohort. We found 34 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) associated with IgE sensitization to airborne allergens and 38 DMRs associated with sensitization to food allergens in children at 5Y (Sidak

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

EM has received speaker fees from Thermo Fisher Scientific and Meda AB. JA has served as a consultant on clinical trials for ALK-Abello. AS is a member in the Joint Steering Committee for the Human Translational Microbiome Program at SciLifeLab/Karolinska Institutet together with Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Switzerland. The rest of the authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.