Transcriptome and Differential Methylation Integration Analysis Identified Important Differential Methylation Annotation Genes and Functional Epigenetic Modules Related to Vitiligo

Vitiligo is an pigmentation disorder caused by a variety of pathogenic factors; its main pathophysiological conditions include oxidative stress, immune activation, and genetic background. Additionally, DNA methylation is often associated with the pathogenesis of vitiligo; however, the underlying mechanism remains unknown. In the present study, we used the Human Methylation 850K BeadChip platform to detect DNA methylation changes in the vitiligo melanocytes. We then integrated the results with the transcriptome data of vitiligo melanocytes and lesions to analyse the correlation between differentially methylated levels and differentially expressed genes. The results showed that there was a significant negative correlation between methylation levels and differentially expressed genes. Subsequently, we enriched GO and KEGG based on methylated differentially expressed genes (MDEGs) using R package ClusterProfiler, and the results were closely related to the pathogenesis of vitiligo. In addition, we also constructed a PPI network of MDEGs and excavated three important functional epigenetic modules, involving a total of 12 (BCL2L1, CDK1, ECT2, HELLS, HSP90AA1, KIF23, MC1R, MLANA, PBK, PTGS2, SOX10, and TYRP1) genes. These genes affect melanocyte melanogenesis, cellular oxidative stress and other important biological processes. Our comprehensive analysis results support the significant contribution of the status of DNA methylation modification to vitiligo, which will help us to better understand the molecular mechanism of vitiligo and explore new therapeutic strategies.