Approximately 1.5 billion people worldwide are overweight or affected by obesity, and are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and related metabolic and inflammatory disturbances. Although the mechanisms linking adiposity to associated clinical conditions are poorly understood, recent studies suggest that adiposity may influence DNA methylation, a key regulator of gene expression and molecular phenotype. Here we use epigenome-wide association to show that body mass index (BMI; a key measure of adiposity) is associated with widespread changes in DNA methylation (187 genetic loci with P < 1 × 10 -7, range P = 9.2 × 10 -8 to 6.0 × 10 -46; n = 10,261 samples). Genetic association analyses demonstrate that the alterations in DNA methylation are predominantly the consequence of adiposity, rather than the cause. We find that methylation loci are enriched for functional genomic features in multiple tissues (P < 0.05), and show that sentinel methylation markers identify gene expression signatures at 38 loci (P < 9.0 × 10 -6, range P = 5.5 × 10 -6 to 6.1 × 10 -35, n = 1,785 samples). The methylation loci identify genes involved in lipid and lipoprotein metabolism, substrate transport and inflammatory pathways. Finally, we show that the disturbances in DNA methylation predict future development of type 2 diabetes (relative risk per 1 standard deviation increase in methylation risk score: 2.3 (2.07-2.56); P = 1.1 × 10 -54). Our results provide new insights into the biologic pathways influenced by adiposity, and may enable development of new strategies for prediction and prevention of type 2 diabetes and other adverse clinical consequences of obesity.

Epigenome-wide association study of body mass index, and the adverse outcomes of adiposity / S. Wahl, A. Drong, B. Lehne, M. Loh, W.R. Scott, S. Kunze, P. Tsai, J.S. Ried, W. Zhang, Y. Yang, S. Tan, G. Fiorito, L. Franke, S. Guarrera, S. Kasela, J. Kriebel, R.C. Richmond, M. Adamo, U. Afzal, M. Ala Korpela, B. Albetti, O. Ammerpohl, J.F. Apperley, M. Beekman, P.A. Bertazzi, S..L. Black, C. Blancher, M. Bonder, M. Brosch, M. Carstensen Kirberg, A.J.M. De Craen, S. De Lusignan, A. Dehghan, M. Elkalaawy, K. Fischer, O.H. Franco, T.R. Gaunt, J. Hampe, M. Hashemi, A. Isaacs, A. Jenkinson, S. Jha, N. Kato, V. Krogh, M. Laffan, C. Meisinger, T. Meitinger, Z.Y. Mok, V. Motta, H.K. Ng, Z. Nikolakopoulou, G. Nteliopoulos, S. Panico, N. Pervjakova, H. Prokisch, W. Rathmann, M. Roden, F. Rota, M.A. Rozario, J.K. Sandling, C. Schafmayer, K. Schramm, R. Siebert, P..E. Slagboom, P. Soininen, L. Stolk, K. Strauch, E. Tai, L. Tarantini, B. Thorand, E.F. Tigchelaar, R. Tumino, A.G. Uitterlinden, C. Van Duijn, J.B.J. Van Meurs, P. Vineis, A.R. Wickremasinghe, C. Wijmenga, T. Yang, W. Yuan, A. Zhernakova, R.L. Batterham, G.D. Smith, P. Deloukas, B.T. Heijmans, C. Herder, A. Hofman, C.M. Lindgren, L. Milani, P. Van Der Harst, A. Peters, T. Illig, C.L. Relton, M. Waldenberger, M. Järvelin, V. Bollati, R. Soong, T.D. Spector, J. Scott, M.I. Mccarthy, P. Elliott, J.T. Bell, G. Matullo, C. Gieger, J.S. Kooner, H. Grallert, J.C. Chambers. - In: NATURE. - ISSN 0028-0836. - 541:7635(2017), pp. 81-86.

Epigenome-wide association study of body mass index, and the adverse outcomes of adiposity

B. Albetti;V. Motta;F. Rota;L. Tarantini;V. Bollati;
2017

Abstract

Approximately 1.5 billion people worldwide are overweight or affected by obesity, and are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and related metabolic and inflammatory disturbances. Although the mechanisms linking adiposity to associated clinical conditions are poorly understood, recent studies suggest that adiposity may influence DNA methylation, a key regulator of gene expression and molecular phenotype. Here we use epigenome-wide association to show that body mass index (BMI; a key measure of adiposity) is associated with widespread changes in DNA methylation (187 genetic loci with P < 1 × 10 -7, range P = 9.2 × 10 -8 to 6.0 × 10 -46; n = 10,261 samples). Genetic association analyses demonstrate that the alterations in DNA methylation are predominantly the consequence of adiposity, rather than the cause. We find that methylation loci are enriched for functional genomic features in multiple tissues (P < 0.05), and show that sentinel methylation markers identify gene expression signatures at 38 loci (P < 9.0 × 10 -6, range P = 5.5 × 10 -6 to 6.1 × 10 -35, n = 1,785 samples). The methylation loci identify genes involved in lipid and lipoprotein metabolism, substrate transport and inflammatory pathways. Finally, we show that the disturbances in DNA methylation predict future development of type 2 diabetes (relative risk per 1 standard deviation increase in methylation risk score: 2.3 (2.07-2.56); P = 1.1 × 10 -54). Our results provide new insights into the biologic pathways influenced by adiposity, and may enable development of new strategies for prediction and prevention of type 2 diabetes and other adverse clinical consequences of obesity.
adipose tissue; adiposity; asian continental ancestry group; blood; cohort studies; dna methylation; diabetes mellitus, type 2; europe; european continental ancestry group; female; genetic markers; genetic predisposition to disease; humans; india; male; obesity; overweight; body mass index; epigenesis, genetic; epigenomics; genome-wide association study; medicine (all); multidisciplinary
Settore MED/44 - Medicina del Lavoro
2017
Article (author)
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
emss-70428.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: Pre-print (manoscritto inviato all'editore)
Dimensione 4.57 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
4.57 MB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri
Pubblicazioni consigliate

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/496645
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 366
  • Scopus 660
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 606
social impact