(I checked to see if it has been published elsewhere on the net to make access easier but alas no)
https://www.genomeweb.com/sequencing-te ... sented-bog
The group's subsequent modeling analyses indicated that the combination of RNA-sequencing and genome-wide methylation data distinguished IBD from control cases with better resolution than the IBD risk variants, microbiome, expression, or methylation data alone. They also noted that DNA methylation patterns at diagnosis seemed to contain clues to disease severity.
Though Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are both marked by chronic, relapsing inflammation of the gut, Howell explained, the IBD conditions differ somewhat with respect to the gut region affected and the type of inflammation detected by colonoscopy. And while the conditions are known to have genetic contributors, IBD cases have been on the rise over the past few decades, she noted, highlighting the potential importance of non-genetic risk factors.
In an effort to complement past studies of the conditions — which run the gamut from genome-wide association searches for IBD-associated variants to microbiome sequencing studies pointing to decreased microbial diversity in the guts of IBD-affected individuals — the team focused on intestinal epithelial cells, reasoning that the cell type's role in gut function and immunity might offer particularly relevant insights into IBD pathogenesis.
based on that last paragraph, this may improve colonscopy procedures and the taking and testing of biopsies ie may help those with MC?Generally speaking, expression and methylation patterns often overlapped between children with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis when samples from the same part of the intestine were considered. On the other hand, both methylation and gene expression profiles differed depending on the site sampled, Howell explained. For example, biopsy samples collected from the ileum of children with IBD tended to show expression shifts involving components of signal transduction pathways, while immune response gene expression changes were more common in the colon.
Based on the preliminary success they've had using gene expression and DNA methylation to come up with a potential diagnostic model for IBD, the team hopes to expand its analyses to larger pediatric IBD cohorts with more biopsy samples per individual in the hopes of further improving its model and uncovering clues to other IBD features, including disease-specific biology and treatment outcomes.
