Epigenetic reprogramming of immune cells in women with PCOS impact genes controlling reproductive function [RRBS]

Transcriptomic and genome-wide DNA methylation was performed on T helper cells using RNA-sequencing and Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing, respectively. Specific genome-wide DNA methylation analysis of T helper cells from women with PCOS identified 5,581 differentially methylated CpG sites. Interestingly, functional gene ontology enrichment analysis showed that genes located at the proximity of differentially methylated CpG sites belong to pathways related to reproductive function and immune cell function. However, these genes were not altered at the transcriptomic level. Our results show that PCOS is associated with global and gene-specific DNA methylation remodelling in a cell-type specific manner. Overall design: We performed genome-wide DNA methylation analysis of t Helper cells in women with and without PCOS.