Remote immune processes revealed by immune-derived circulating cell-free DNA.
cross_sectional · Level IV
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 34842142.
- Also identified by DOI 10.7554/eLife.70520 and PMC identifier 8651286.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Blood cell counts often fail to report on immune processes occurring in remote tissues. Here, we use immune cell type-specific methylation patterns in circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) for studying human immune cell dynamics. We characterized cfDNA released from specific immune cell types in healthy individuals (N = 242), cross sectionally and longitudinally. Immune cfDNA levels had no individual steady state as opposed to blood cell counts, suggesting that cfDNA concentration reflects adjustment of cell survival to maintain homeostatic cell numbers. We also observed selective elevation of immune-derived cfDNA upon perturbations of immune homeostasis. Following influenza vaccination (N = 92), B-cell-derived cfDNA levels increased prior to elevated B-cell counts and predicted efficacy of antibody production. Patients with eosinophilic esophagitis (N = 21) and B-cell lymphoma (N = 27) showed selective elevation of eosinophil and B-cell cfDNA, respectively, which were undetectable by cell counts in blood. Immune-derived cfDNA provides a novel biomarker for monitoring immune responses to physiological and pathological processes that are not accessible using conventional methods.
Medical subject headings
- Biomarkers, Tumor
- Cell-Free Nucleic Acids
- DNA Methylation
- Immunity