CD4+ T cells From Children With Active Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Show Altered Chromatin Features Associated With Transcriptional Abnormalities (ChIP-seq)

We used a multi-omics approach in an attempt to identify mechanisms driving the transcriptional abnormalities in peripheral blood CD4+ T cells of children with active JIA. We demonstrate that active JIA is associated with distinct alterations in CD4+ T cell chromatin, as assessed by ATAC-seq studies. However, 3D chromatin architecture, assessed by HiChIP and simultaneous mapping of CTCF anchors of chromatin loops, reveals that normal 3D chromatin architecture is largely preserved in JIA CD4+ T cells. However, overlapping CTCF binding, ATACseq, and RNAseq data with known JIA genetic risk loci demonstrated the presence of genetic influences on the observed transcriptional abnormalities and identified candidate target genes. These studies demonstrate the utility of multi-omics approaches for unraveling some of the most vexing questions regarding the pathobiology of autoimmune diseases. Overall design: We mapped CTCF anchors of chromatin loops with ChIP-seq.