T Cell Senescence Induced by DNMT1 Deletion Mediates Cardiac Transplant Tolerance via Altered CDKN1A Methylation

This project aims to investigate how T cell specific deletion of DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) induces T cell senescence and thereby promotes cardiac allograft tolerance by modulating CDKN1A methylation and expression. Using T-cell-specific DNMT1 knockout mice, we isolated splenic CD4+ T cells on day 2 of TCR mediated activation and performed whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) and RNA seq. The resulting data will be used to analyze DNMT1 deficiency associated changes in promoter methylation, differentially expressed genes, and pathway enrichment, elucidating the epigenetic mechanisms linking T cell senescence to transplant tolerance.