Epigenetic deregulation of lamina-associated domains in Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome

Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS) is a progeroid disease characterized by the early onset of some classically age-related phenotypes including arthritis, loss of body fat and hair and atherosclerosis. Cells from affected individuals express a mutant version of the nuclear envelope protein Lamin A (termed Progerin) and have previously been shown to exhibit prominent chromatin changes. Here, we identify epigenetic deregulation of lamina-associated domains (LADs) as a central feature in the molecular pathology of HGPS. Using ATAC-see/-seq and Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip-mediated DNA methylation profiling, we demonstrate that dermal fibroblasts from HGPS patients exhibit both chromatin accessibility and DNA methylation changes that are enriched in LADs. Importantly, we further show that these epigenetic alterations are associated with HGPS-specific gene expression changes. Together, our results establish a central involvement of LADs in the epigenetic deregulation of HGPS and provide novel insight into the molecular changes associated with the disease.