Whole-Genome Cardiac DNA Methylation Fingerprint and Gene Expression Analysis Provide New Insights in the Pathogenesis of Chronic Chagas Disease Cardiomyopathy

摘要

BackgroundChagas disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is endemic in Latin America and affects 10 million people worldwide. Approximately 12000 deaths attributable to Chagas disease occur annually due to chronic Chagas disease cardiomyopathy (CCC), an inflammatory cardiomyopathy presenting with heart failure and arrythmia; 30% of infected subjects develop CCC years after infection. Genetic mechanisms play a role in differential progression to CCC, but little is known about the role of epigenetic modifications in pathological gene expression patterns in CCC patients’ myocardium. DNA methylation is the most common modification in the mammalian genome.