ORCID Profile
0000-0002-6653-9020
Current Organisations
Rigshospitalet
,
Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen
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Publisher: The Endocrine Society
Date: 06-2010
DOI: 10.1210/JC.2009-2413
Abstract: Context: Low birth weight (LBW) and unhealthy diets are risk factors of metabolic disease including type 2 diabetes (T2D). Genetic, nongenetic, and epigenetic data propose a role of the key metabolic regulator peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ, coactivator 1α (PPARGC1A) in the development of T2D. Objective: Our objective was to investigate gene expression and DNA methylation of PPARGC1A and coregulated oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) genes in LBW and normal birth weight (NBW) subjects during control and high-fat diets. Design, Subjects, and Main Outcome Measures: Twenty young healthy men with LBW and 26 matched NBW controls were studied after 5 d high-fat overfeeding (+50% calories) and after a control diet in a randomized manner. Hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic cl s were performed and skeletal muscle biopsies excised. DNA methylation and gene expression were measured using bisulfite sequencing and quantitative real-time PCR, respectively. Results: When challenged with high-fat overfeeding, LBW subjects developed peripheral insulin resistance and reduced PPARGC1A and OXPHOS (P & 0.05) gene expression. PPARGC1A methylation was significantly higher in LBW subjects (P = 0.0002) during the control diet. However, PPARGC1A methylation increased in only NBW subjects after overfeeding in a reversible manner. DNA methylation of PPARGC1A did not correlate with mRNA expression. Conclusions: LBW subjects developed peripheral insulin resistance and decreased gene expression of PPARGC1A and OXPHOS genes when challenged with fat overfeeding. The extent to which our finding of a constitutively increased DNA methylation in the PPARGC1A promoter in LBW subjects may contribute needs to be determined. We provide the first experimental support in humans that DNA methylation induced by overfeeding is reversible.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 10-04-2015
DOI: 10.1093/HMG/DDV124
Abstract: Increased age, BMI and HbA1c levels are risk factors for several non-communicable diseases. However, the impact of these factors on the genome-wide DNA methylation pattern in human adipose tissue remains unknown. We analyzed the DNA methylation of ∼480 000 sites in human adipose tissue from 96 males and 94 females and related methylation to age, BMI and HbA1c. We also compared epigenetic signatures in adipose tissue and blood. Age was significantly associated with both altered DNA methylation and expression of 1050 genes (e.g. FHL2, NOX4 and PLG). Interestingly, many reported epigenetic biomarkers of aging in blood, including ELOVL2, FHL2, KLF14 and GLRA1, also showed significant correlations between adipose tissue DNA methylation and age in our study. The most significant association between age and adipose tissue DNA methylation was found upstream of ELOVL2. We identified 2825 genes (e.g. FTO, ITIH5, CCL18, MTCH2, IRS1 and SPP1) where both DNA methylation and expression correlated with BMI. Methylation at previously reported HIF3A sites correlated significantly with BMI in females only. HbA1c (range 28-46 mmol/mol) correlated significantly with the methylation of 711 sites, annotated to, for ex le, RAB37, TICAM1 and HLA-DPB1. Pathway analyses demonstrated that methylation levels associated with age and BMI are overrepresented among genes involved in cancer, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Our results highlight the impact of age, BMI and HbA1c on epigenetic variation of candidate genes for obesity, type 2 diabetes and cancer in human adipose tissue. Importantly, we demonstrate that epigenetic biomarkers in blood can mirror age-related epigenetic signatures in target tissues for metabolic diseases such as adipose tissue.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-04-2017
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 20-06-2016
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 26-02-2014
DOI: 10.1007/S00125-014-3198-8
Abstract: The association between low birthweight (LBW) and risk of developing type 2 diabetes may involve epigenetic mechanisms, with skeletal muscle being a prime target tissue. Differential DNA methylation patterns have been observed in single genes in muscle tissue from type 2 diabetic and LBW in iduals, and we recently showed multiple DNA methylation changes during short-term high-fat overfeeding in muscle of healthy people. In a randomised crossover study, we analysed genome-wide DNA promoter methylation in skeletal muscle of 17 young LBW men and 23 matched normal birthweight (NBW) men after a control and a 5 day high-fat overfeeding diet. DNA methylation was measured using Illumina's Infinium BeadArray covering 27,578 CpG sites representing 14,475 different genes. After correction for multiple comparisons, DNA methylation levels were found to be similar in the LBW and NBW groups during the control diet. Whereas widespread DNA methylation changes were observed in the NBW group in response to high-fat overfeeding, only a few methylation changes were seen in the LBW group (χ(2), p < 0.001). Our results indicate lower DNA methylation plasticity in skeletal muscle from LBW vs NBW men, potentially contributing to understanding the link between LBW and increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-09-2012
DOI: 10.1007/S00125-012-2717-8
Abstract: Energy-dense diets that are high in fat are associated with a risk of metabolic diseases. The underlying molecular mechanisms could involve epigenetics, as recent data show altered DNA methylation of putative type 2 diabetes candidate genes in response to high-fat diets. We examined the effect of a short-term high-fat overfeeding (HFO) diet on genome-wide DNA methylation patterns in human skeletal muscle. Skeletal muscle biopsies were obtained from 21 healthy young men after ingestion of a short-term HFO diet and a control diet, in a randomised crossover setting. DNA methylation was measured in 27,578 CpG sites/14,475 genes using Illumina's Infinium Bead Array. Candidate gene expression was determined by quantitative real-time PCR. HFO introduced widespread DNA methylation changes affecting 6,508 genes (45%), with a maximum methylation change of 13.0 percentage points. The HFO-induced methylation changes were only partly and non-significantly reversed after 6-8 weeks. Alterations in DNA methylation levels primarily affected genes involved in inflammation, the reproductive system and cancer. Few gene expression changes were observed and these had poor correlation to DNA methylation. The genome-wide DNA methylation changes induced by the short-term HFO diet could have implications for our understanding of transient epigenetic regulation in humans and its contribution to the development of metabolic diseases. The slow reversibility suggests a methylation build-up with HFO, which over time may influence gene expression levels.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-01-2016
DOI: 10.1007/S00125-015-3852-9
Abstract: In iduals who had a low birthweight (LBW) are at an increased risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes when exposed to high-fat overfeeding (HFO). We studied genome-wide mRNA expression and DNA methylation in subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) after 5 days of HFO and after a control diet in 40 young men, of whom 16 had LBW. mRNA expression was analysed using Affymetrix Human Gene 1.0 ST arrays and DNA methylation using Illumina 450K BeadChip arrays. We found differential DNA methylation at 53 sites in SAT from LBW vs normal birthweight (NBW) men (false discovery rate <5%), including sites in the FADS2 and CPLX1 genes previously associated with type 2 diabetes. When we used reference-free cell mixture adjustments to potentially adjust for cell composition, 4,323 sites had differential methylation in LBW vs NBW men. However, no differences in SAT gene expression levels were identified between LBW and NBW men. In the combined group of all 40 participants, 3,276 genes (16.5%) were differentially expressed in SAT after HFO (false discovery rate <5%) and there was no difference between LBW men and controls. The most strongly upregulated genes were ELOVL6, FADS2 and NNAT in contrast, INSR, IRS2 and the SLC27A2 fatty acid transporter showed decreased expression after HFO. Interestingly, SLC27A2 expression correlated negatively with diabetes- and obesity-related traits in a replication cohort of 142 in iduals. DNA methylation at 652 CpG sites (including in CDK5, IGFBP5 and SLC2A4) was altered in SAT after overfeeding in this and in another cohort. Young men who had a LBW exhibit epigenetic alterations in their adipose tissue that potentially influence insulin resistance and risk of type 2 diabetes. Short-term overfeeding influences gene transcription and, to some extent, DNA methylation in adipose tissue there was no major difference in this response between LBW and control participants.
No related grants have been discovered for Charlotte Brøns.