Osteoporosis study with Legacy Genotypes, Methylome sequencing + 2 more data on dbGaP (143 participants)

phs001960 — Epigenome Wide DNA Methylation Study for Osteoporosis Risk

<p>Osteoporosis is characterized by low bone mineral density (BMD). The advancement of high-throughput technologies and integrative approaches provided an opportunity for deciphering the mechanisms underlying osteoporosis. In this study, we generated genomic (from whole blood DNA), transcriptomic and methylomic (from peripheral blood monocytes, PBMs), and serum metabolomic datasets from 143 premenopausal Caucasian females aged 25-40 years, including 74 with relatively high hip BMD (Z scores ≥ 0.8) and 69 with relatively low hip BMD (Z scores ≤ -0.8). The BMD Z score was defined as the number of standard deviations a subject's BMD differed from the mean BMD of their age-, gender-, and ethnicity-matched population. We identified differentially methylated CpG sites (DMCs) in peripheral blood monocytes (PBMs) at the whole methylome level between premenopausal women with high BMD and those with low BMD and deciphered how the DMCs influence the BMD variation through affecting the expression of the relevant genes. We also performed differential gene expression and metabolic analysis to assess their biological interaction and causal mechanisms. Our study provided novel insights into the pathogenesis of osteoporosis.</p>