Thread by @vipintukur

COVID-19 caused profound epigenetic changes in the lungs of patients who died from the disease. Such alterations particularly affected genes related to hyperinflammation and fibrosis. 1/

In a new study, researchers analysed an extensive collection of lung autopsy samples from patients who died from COVID-19 and compared them with healthy lungs from people who died from other unrelated diseases. 2/

Comparison of the DNA between both groups showed epigenetic differences in more than 2,000 regulation points of the genetic material. 3/

A detailed analysis revealed that they were genetic sequences mainly associated with promoting a state of hyperinflammation, such as the overproduction of interferons and chemokines, chemical signals used by the immune system to promote inflammation. 4/

This study first time pinpoint specific DNA methylation events that might result in long-term complications.

Remodelling this DNA methylation landscape by epigenetic agents could potentially be a strategy to mitigate the fibrotic environment seen in longCovid cases. 5/

Importantly, since DNA methylation inhibitors are used in hematological malignancies, these agents could be considered to treat the severe disorder, as currently assessed on the first clinical trial of this type. 6/

journal.chestnet.org/article/S0012-…

What’s epigenetics?

Epigenetics is the control layer a cell uses to finely tune whether a gene will be active or not, without modifying its genetic information. Alterations in the epigenetic program of a cell can make it behave way different than expected. 7/7