Nasal transcriptome and epigenome analysis identifies the pathogenic
features of aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease
Abstract
Background: Dysregulation of the arachidonic acid metabolic pathway is
the most widely known pathomechanism of AERD. We performed integrative
analysis of transcriptomic and epigenomic profiling with network
analysis to determine the novel pathogenic features of AERD. Methods:
Ten patients with asthma including 5 patients with AERD and another 5
patients with aspirin tolerant asthma (ATA) were enrolled. Nasal
epithelial scraping was performed and nasal mucosa was used in omics
profiling. Peripheral eosinophil counts, sputum eosinophil counts, FeNO
levels, and pulmonary function test results were evaluated.
Differentially expressed genes (DEGs), differentially methylated probes
(DMPs) and differentially correlated genes (DCGs) between patients with
AERD and those with ATA were analyzed. Network analysis using Ingenuity
Pathway Analysis (IPA) was performed to determine the gene connection
network and signaling pathways. Results: In total, 1,736 DEGs and 1,401
DMPs were identified. Finally, 19 pairs for DCGs were selected. Among
DCGs, genes related to vesicle transport (e.g. STX2 and
RAB3B) and sphingolipid dysregulation (e.g. SMPD3) were
found to be hypo-methylated and up-regulated in patients with AERD. A
total number of 78 asthma-related DEGs were identified by the IPA
knowledge base. Using the canonical pathway analysis of IPA, signaling
pathways of T helper cell differentiation/activation and Fcε receptor I
were generated. Up-regulation of RORγt and down-regulation of
MHCII, TNFR, and TGF-β as well as up-regulation of
FCER1A and JAK and down-regulation of VAV and
cPLA2 were noted in patients with AERD. Conclusions: Distinct
pathogenic features were identified by using integrative multi-omics
data analysis in patients with AERD.