American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Feb 2016
Genome-wide Methylation Study Identifies an IL-13 Induced Epigenetic Signature in Asthmatic Airways.
Epigenetic changes to airway cells have been proposed as important modulators of the effects of environmental exposures on airway diseases, yet no study to date has shown epigenetic responses to exposures in the airway that correlate with disease state. The type 2 cytokine IL-13 is a key mediator of allergic airway diseases, such as asthma, and is up-regulated in response to many asthma-promoting exposures. ⋯ These results suggest that a single exposure of IL-13 may selectively induce long-lasting DNA methylation changes in asthmatic airways that alter specific AEC pathways and contribute to asthma phenotypes.