The International Human Epigenome Consortium Data Portal

Abstract

The International Human Epigenome Consortium (IHEC) coordinates the production of reference epigenome maps through the characterization of the regulome, methylome, and transcriptome from a wide range of tissues and cell types. To define conventions ensuring the compatibility of datasets and establish an infrastructure enabling data integration, analysis, and sharing, we developed the IHEC Data Portal (http://epigenomesportal.ca/ihec). The portal provides access to >7,000 reference epigenomic datasets, generated from >600 tissues, which have been contributed by seven international consortia: ENCODE, NIH Roadmap, CEEHRC, Blueprint, DEEP, AMED-CREST, and KNIH. The portal enhances the utility of these reference maps by facilitating the discovery, visualization, analysis, download, and sharing of epigenomics data. The IHEC Data Portal is the official source to navigate through IHEC datasets and represents a strategy for unifying the distributed data produced by international research consortia.

Regions of common inter-individual DNA methylation differences in human monocytes: genetic basis and potential function

“…The BLUEPRINT and CEEHRC WGBS datasets on human monocytes from other male donors were retrieved from the IHEC Data Portal (http://epigenomesportal.ca/ihec/grid.html; [57]). In addition, 450k array data of monocytes and whole blood DNA obtained from six individuals were downloaded from the gene expression omnibus (GSE35069) [20].…”

Translational Perspective on Epigenetics in Cardiovascular Disease

“…ENCODE (49), the Epigenome Roadmap (27), BLUEPRINT (50), and the overarching International Human Epigenome Consortium (IHEC) are dedicated to providing reference maps for key cellular states. These efforts also focus on harmonizing measurement techniques, bioinformatics standards, data models, and analytical tools for organizing, integrating, and displaying the epigenome data generated (51,52) With availability and easy use of analyses tools, it is becoming increasingly feasible for many researchers to study the epigenome in different diseases states (53). Reproducibility among laboratories is also improving, with DNA methylation profiling now benchmarked across many laboratories, and with assays potentially sufficiently robust to become applicable in clinical settings (54).…”

“…Enrichment of activating histone marks was also identified during differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells into cardiomyocytes (89). However, the genomic maps of epigenetic modifications that are used in GWAS are usually derived from cell cultures or cells isolated from a few individuals, an important limitation to their utility for understanding tissue- and cell-specific processes (52). …”

Early Detection of Cancer in Blood Using Single-Cell Analysis: A Proposal

“…Finally, strong clues to the tissue of origin can in turn be discovered from methylation patterns, chromatin structure and gene expression data [24, 25]. Comprehensive databases with this type of information are currently being compiled and will be most useful [33, 34]. Indeed, defining an anatomical origin of neoplasia will be critical for diagnostics, where once the location of probable primary sites is identified, subsequent scanning/imaging at high resolution could validate any preliminary blood-based findings.…”