Construction and Application of an Epigenetic Atlas of the Human Heart

Epigenetic modifications including DNA methylation regulate gene expression and contribute to specialization of cells. Currently, there is limited knowledge of the epigenetic patterns of human heart. We have used healthy cardiac tissues from different anatomical regions of the human heart to study unique methylation signatures specific to human heart. We have generated genome-wide methylomes using reduced representation bisulfite sequencing from healthy human cardiac tissues in triplicate such as left atrium, right atrium, left ventricle, right ventricle, aorta, pulmonary artery, mitral valve , tricuspid valve, aortic valve and pulmonary valve. Using massively parallel sequencing technology, we have created a DNA methylation atlas of the human heart. This data provides a resource for future studies and may help identify new disease biomarkers and increase our understanding of cardiac development.