Monocyte Enhancers are Highly Altered in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Histone modifications set transcriptional competency and can perpetuate pathologic expression patterns. We defined systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)-specific changes in H3K4me3 and K3K27me3, histone marks of gene activation and repression, respectively. METHODS: We used ChIP-seq to define histone modifications in monocytes from SLE patients and controls. RESULTS: Both promoters and enhancers exhibited significant changes in histone methylation in SLE. Regions with differential H3K4me3 in SLE were significantly enriched in potential interferon-related transcription factor binding sites and pioneer transcription factor sites. CONCLUSION: Enhancer activation defines the character of the cell and our data support extensive disease effects in monocytes, a particularly plastic lineage. Type I interferons not only drive altered gene expression but may also alter the character of the cell through chromatin modifications.