Lupus, DNA Methylation, and Air Pollution: A Malicious Triad

Leen Rasking, Céline Roelens, Ben Sprangers, Bernard Thienpont, Tim S. Nawrot and Katrien De Vusser ()
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Leen Rasking: Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, 3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium
Céline Roelens: Depatment of Nephrology and Kidney Transplantation, University Hospital Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Ben Sprangers: Depatment of Nephrology and Kidney Transplantation, University Hospital Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Bernard Thienpont: Department of Human Genetics, Leuven University, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Tim S. Nawrot: Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, 3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium
Katrien De Vusser: Depatment of Nephrology and Kidney Transplantation, University Hospital Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 22, 1-24

Abstract: The pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) remains elusive to this day; however, genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors have been implicated to be involved in disease pathogenesis. Recently, it was demonstrated that in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, interferon-regulated genes are hypomethylated in naïve CD4 + T cells, CD19 + B lymphocytes, and CD14 + monocytes. This suggests that interferon-regulated genes may have been epigenetically poised in SLE patients for rapid expression upon stimulation by different environmental factors. Additionally, environmental studies have identified DNA (hypo)methylation changes as a potential mechanism of environmentally induced health effects in utero, during childhood and in adults. Finally, epidemiologic studies have firmly established air pollution as a crucial SLE risk factor, as studies showed an association between fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and traditional SLE biomarkers related to disease flare, hospital admissions, and an increased SLEDAI score. In this review, the relationship between aberrant epigenetic regulation, the environment, and the development of SLE will be discussed.

Keywords: systemic lupus erythematosus; lupus; DNA methylation; interferon; air pollution; particulate matter; black carbon (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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