Logo image
Back
Cigarette and Cannabis Smoking Effects on GPR15+ Helper T Cell Levels in Peripheral Blood: Relationships with Epigenetic Biomarkers
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Cigarette and Cannabis Smoking Effects on GPR15+ Helper T Cell Levels in Peripheral Blood: Relationships with Epigenetic Biomarkers

Allan M Andersen, Man-Kit Lei, Steven R H Beach, Robert A Philibert, Sushmita Sinha and John D Colgan
Genes, Vol.11(2), p.149
01/30/2020
DOI: 10.3390/genes11020149
PMCID: PMC7074551
PMID: 32019074
url
https://doi.org/10.3390/genes11020149View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

: Smoking causes widespread epigenetic changes that have been linked with an increased risk of smoking-associated diseases and elevated mortality. Of particular interest are changes in the level of T cells expressing G-protein-coupled receptor 15 (GPR15), a chemokine receptor linked with multiple autoimmune diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis and psoriasis. Accordingly, a better understanding of the mechanisms by which smoking influences variation in the GPR15 helper T cell subpopulation is of potential interest. : In the current study, we used flow cytometry and digital PCR assays to measure the GPR15 CD3 CD4 populations in peripheral blood from a cohort of = 62 primarily African American young adults (aged 27-35 years) with a high rate of tobacco and cannabis use. We demonstrated that self-reported tobacco and cannabis smoking predict GPR15 CD3 CD4 helper T cell levels using linear regression models. Further, we demonstrated that methylation of two candidate CpGs, cg19859270, located in , and cg05575921, located in the gene ( ), were both significant predictors of GPR15 CD3 CD4 cell levels, mediating the relationship between smoking habits and increases in GPR15 CD3 CD4 cells. As hypothesized, the interaction between cg05575921 and cg19859270 was also significant, indicating that low cg05575921 methylation was more strongly predictive of GPR15 CD3 CD4 cell levels for those who also had lower cg19859270 methylation. : Smoking leads changes in two CpGs, cg05575921 and cg19859270, that mediate 38.5% of the relationship between tobacco and cannabis smoking and increased GPR15 T levels in this sample. The impact of cg19859270 in amplifying the association between cg05575921 and increased GPR15 T levels is of potential theoretical interest given the possibility that it reflects a permissive interaction between different parts of the adaptive immune system.
 Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors - genetics T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer - metabolism Cigarette Smoking - genetics Genetic Association Studies Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled - metabolism Epigenesis, Genetic Humans Repressor Proteins - genetics Linear Models Marijuana Smoking - genetics Cigarette Smoking - immunology Marijuana Smoking - immunology Flow Cytometry CpG Islands Adult Female Receptors, Peptide - metabolism

Details

Metrics

27 Record Views
20 Times Cited - Web of Science
Logo image