Author(s): Alexandra DiLiberto, Ethan McQuhae
Mentor(s): Timothy Jenkins
Institution BYU
DNA Methylation is a critical epigenetic modification that can alter the production of proteins by adding methyl groups to the CpG sites of DNA, often causing gene silencing. This modification can be influenced by various environmental and biological factors, including viral infections such as COVID-19. To fully understand the broader biological impact of COVID-19, it is essential to investigate the changes it induces in DNA methylation patterns. In this study, we utilized differentially methylated regions (DMRs) previously identified in sperm to investigate whether COVID-19 causes conserved changes in DNA methylation patterns across multiple tissues, particularly when comparing sperm and blood methylation patterns. We randomly selected 24 individuals from the sperm DMRs sample population: 12 who had tested positive for COVID-19 and 12 who had not. We obtained blood samples from each participant, from which we extracted DNA and performed bisulfite conversion. We amplified three of the twenty-one identified sperm DMRs (10p11.1, 18q23, 8q24.3) in each sample group, COVID-19 and non-COVID-19, using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). With Oxford Nanopore technology, we sequenced the seventy-two total amplicons and computationally analyzed the resulting data to calculate regional percent methylation, which we compared for each region between the COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 groups. After statistical analyses using a t-test, we concluded that there was no significant difference in regional methylation between the COVID-19 sample group and the non-COVID-19 sample group in blood (P>0.05 for each region). These findings suggest that methylation changes following COVID-19 may be tissue-specific. This study contributes to our understanding of viral epigenetics, emphasizing the need for further research with larger sample sizes and additional tissues to confirm our findings and improve therapeutic strategies.