{"entity": "publication", "iuid": "c8261a4e54164a91b6415ea2edfe568d", "timestamp": "2026-09-22T21:48:17.268Z", "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications.scilifelab.se/publication/c8261a4e54164a91b6415ea2edfe568d.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications.scilifelab.se/publication/c8261a4e54164a91b6415ea2edfe568d"}}, "title": "DNA methylation landscape of cerebrospinal fluid cells in multiple sclerosis: an epigenome-wide association study.", "authors": [{"family": "Han", "given": "Yanan", "initials": "Y"}, {"family": "Zheleznyakova", "given": "Galina Yurevna", "initials": "GY"}, {"family": "Liang", "given": "Heng", "initials": "H"}, {"family": "Sorini", "given": "Chiara", "initials": "C"}, {"family": "Kakhki", "given": "Majid Pahlevan", "initials": "MP"}, {"family": "Ruffin", "given": "Nicolas", "initials": "N"}, {"family": "Hall\u00e9n", "given": "Nils", "initials": "N"}, {"family": "Prakash", "given": "Chandana Rao", "initials": "CR"}, {"family": "Beckers", "given": "Viveca", "initials": "V"}, {"family": "Ivanova", "given": "Elena", "initials": "E"}, {"family": "Khademi", "given": "Mohsen", "initials": "M"}, {"family": "Olsson", "given": "Tomas", "initials": "T"}, {"family": "Karlsson", "given": "Mikael C I", "initials": "MCI"}, {"family": "Piehl", "given": "Fredrik", "initials": "F"}, {"family": "Kelsey", "given": "Gavin", "initials": "G"}, {"family": "Kular", "given": "Lara", "initials": "L"}, {"family": "Needhamsen", "given": "Maria", "initials": "M"}, {"family": "Jagodic", "given": "Maja", "initials": "M"}], "type": "journal article", "published": "2026-09-00", "journal": {"title": "EBioMedicine", "issn": "2352-3964", "volume": "131", "pages": "106454", "issn-l": "2352-3964"}, "abstract": "Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system in which DNA methylation may link genetic and environmental risk factors.\n\nWe profiled genome-wide DNA methylation in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cells from people with MS (pwMS) and matched controls. Differentially methylated positions (DMPs) and regions (DMRs) were integrated with transcriptomic data, T-cell chromatin annotations, and pathway analyses. Protocadherin gamma (PCDH\u03b3) expression was assessed in primary CD4+ T-cell subsets and confirmed by flow cytometry.\n\nWe identified 2710 DMPs and 4330 DMRs associating with genes that were enriched in immune signalling, adhesion and migration processes, and were accompanied by corresponding RNA changes. MS-associated methylation changes enriched in the cohesin chromatin-regulation pathway localised to T-cell regulatory regions, and this pathway included multiple protocadherin (PCDH) genes, which displayed consistent methylation and expression changes in CSF cells of pwMS compared to controls. PCDH\u03b3 cluster gene expression was detected in CD4+ T-cell subsets, and flow cytometry confirmed PCDH\u03b3 protein expression in peripheral blood T cells. Moreover, co-expression analysis suggests a role of PCDH genes in aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) signalling. Protein-level validation showed fewer PCDH\u03b3-positive CD4+ T cells in pwMS and activation-induced PCDH\u03b3 upregulation after T-cell stimulation.\n\nDNA methylation changes in CSF resident cells reflect dysregulated T cell activation and migration in pwMS and suggest involvement of protocadherin molecules in MS pathogenesis.\n\nEuropean Research Council, Swedish Research Council, Swedish Brain Foundation, Swedish MS Foundation, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, European Union and others.", "doi": "10.1016/j.ebiom.2026.106454", "pmid": "42660018", "labels": {"NGI Stockholm (Genomics Production)": "Service", "National Genomics Infrastructure": "Service", "NGI Short read": "Service"}, "xrefs": [{"db": "pmc", "key": "PMC13545696"}, {"db": "pii", "key": "S2352-3964(26)00338-5"}], "notes": [], "created": "2026-09-22T11:50:04.342Z", "modified": "2026-09-22T11:50:04.349Z"}