title: Differential methylation of genes in individuals exposed to maternal diabetes in utero.
abstract: Individuals exposed to maternal diabetes in utero are more likely to develop metabolic and cardiovascular diseases later in life. This may be partially attributable to epigenetic regulation of gene expression. We performed an epigenome-wide association study to examine whether differential DNA methylation, a major source of epigenetic regulation, can be observed in offspring of mothers with type 2 diabetes during the pregnancy (OMD) compared with offspring of mothers with no diabetes during the pregnancy (OMND).
  
  
  
  DNA methylation was measured in peripheral blood using the Illumina HumanMethylation450K BeadChip. A total of 423,311 CpG sites were analysed in 388 Pima Indian individuals, mean age at examination was 13.0 years, 187 of whom were OMD and 201 were OMND. Differences in methylation between OMD and OMND were assessed.
  
  
  
  Forty-eight differentially methylated CpG sites (with an empirical false discovery rate ≤0.05), mapping to 29 genes and ten intergenic regions, were identified. The gene with the strongest evidence was LHX3, in which six CpG sites were hypermethylated in OMD compared with OMND (p ≤ 1.1 × 10-5). Similarly, a CpG near PRDM16 was hypermethylated in OMD (1.1% higher, p = 5.6 × 10-7), where hypermethylation also predicted future diabetes risk (HR 2.12 per SD methylation increase, p = 9.7 × 10-5). Hypermethylation near AK3 and hypomethylation at PCDHGA4 and STC1 were associated with exposure to diabetes in utero (AK3: 2.5% higher, p = 7.8 × 10-6; PCDHGA4: 2.8% lower, p = 3.0 × 10-5; STC1: 2.9% lower, p = 1.6 × 10-5) and decreased insulin secretory function among offspring with normal glucose tolerance (AK3: 0.088 SD lower per SD of methylation increase, p = 0.02; PCDHGA4: 0.08 lower SD per SD of methylation decrease, p = 0.03; STC1: 0.072 SD lower per SD of methylation decrease, p = 0.05). Seventeen CpG sites were also associated with BMI (p ≤ 0.05). Pathway analysis of the genes with at least one differentially methylated CpG (p < 0.005) showed enrichment for three relevant biological pathways.
  
  
  
  Intrauterine exposure to diabetes can affect methylation at multiple genomic sites. Methylation status at some of these sites can impair insulin secretion, increase body weight and increase risk of type 2 diabetes.
authors.affiliation: Phoenix Epidemiology and Clinical Research Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 1550 E. Indian School Rd, Phoenix, AZ, 85014, USA.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Phoenix Epidemiology and Clinical Research Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 1550 E. Indian School Rd, Phoenix, AZ, 85014, USA.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Piaggi
authors.affiliation: Phoenix Epidemiology and Clinical Research Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 1550 E. Indian School Rd, Phoenix, AZ, 85014, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Traurig
authors.affiliation: Phoenix Epidemiology and Clinical Research Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 1550 E. Indian School Rd, Phoenix, AZ, 85014, USA.
authors.forename: Clifton
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bogardus
authors.affiliation: Phoenix Epidemiology and Clinical Research Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 1550 E. Indian School Rd, Phoenix, AZ, 85014, USA.
authors.forename: William C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Knowler
authors.affiliation: Phoenix Epidemiology and Clinical Research Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 1550 E. Indian School Rd, Phoenix, AZ, 85014, USA.
authors.forename: Leslie J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Baier
authors.affiliation: Phoenix Epidemiology and Clinical Research Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 1550 E. Indian School Rd, Phoenix, AZ, 85014, USA. rhanson@phx.niddk.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Robert L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Hanson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018899:CpG Islands / Q000235:genetics; D019175:DNA Methylation / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016640:Diabetes, Gestational / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D060850:LIM-Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D006023:Glycoproteins; D060850:LIM-Homeodomain Proteins; C094898:Lhx3 protein; C416371:PRDM16 protein, human; D014157:Transcription Factors; C051795:teleocalcin
keywords: DNA methylation; Diabetes in pregnancy; Differentially methylated region; Maternal diabetes exposure in utero