LabMedica

Download Mobile App
Recent News Expo Clinical Chem. Molecular Diagnostics Hematology Immunology Microbiology Pathology Technology Industry Focus

Molecular Type 2 Diabetes Biomarker Identified

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 23 Feb 2016
Image: The HiScan SQ scanner (Photo courtesy of Illumina).
Image: The HiScan SQ scanner (Photo courtesy of Illumina).
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is an established risk factor for a wide range of vascular diseases, including ischemic stroke (IS) as well as heart attacks, neuropathy and blindness.

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic illness characterized by the presence of elevated blood glucose levels and it accounts for between 80% and 90% of diabetes cases and is one of the major cardiovascular risk factors.

Scientists at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (Barcelona, Spain) investigated DNA methylation in the blood samples of a cohort of 355 stroke patients using a state-of-the-art technique that allows them to study more than 450,000 methylation points in the genome. In addition, the study compared the methylation profiles of diabetics and non-diabetics as well as their levels of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), a biomarker that indicates blood glucose levels over the past three months.

DNA samples were extracted from whole peripheral blood collected in 10 mL EDTA tubes. The Chemagic Magnetic Separation Module I system (Chemagen, Baesweiler, Germany) was used for DNA isolation in one cohort, and the Autopure LS (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) in another. Genome-wide DNA methylation was assessed using the Illumina HumanMethylation450 Beadchip (Illumina Netherlands; Eindhoven, Netherlands) and the arrays were scanned with the Illumina HiScan SQ scanner.

The study was subsequently replicated in two cohorts from independent populations, with 167 and 645 patients respectively, confirming the relationship between Thioredoxin Interacting Protein (TXNIP) methylation, diabetes and glucose level dysfunction. Methylation of TXNIP was inversely and intensely associated with HbA1c levels specifically related to diabetic patients with poor control of glucose levels. The authors concluded that hypomethylation of the TXNIP gene is related to type 2 DM. The inverse relationship between TXNIP methylation and HbA1c values suggests that TXNIP hypomethylation is a consequence of sustained hyperglycemia levels.

Carolina Soriano-Tárraga, PhD, the lead author of the study said, “The methylation of this gene could be used as an early biomarker of dysfunction in the control of glucose levels. We are currently studying the implications and specific role of this gene in diabetes. In the future it could provide a possible therapeutic target for treating diabetes or controlling glucose concentrations.” The study was published originally online on December 7, 2015, in the journal Human Molecular Genetics.

Related Links:

Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute 
Chemagen
Illumina Netherlands


Gold Member
Respiratory Syncytial Virus Test
OSOM® RSV Test
Collection and Transport System
PurSafe Plus®
Gold Member
Immunochromatographic Assay
CRYPTO Cassette
Gram-Negative Blood Culture Assay
LIAISON PLEX Gram-Negative Blood Culture Assay

Channels

Hematology

view channel
Image: New evidence shows viscoelastic testing can improve assessment of blood clotting during postpartum hemorrhage (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

Viscoelastic Testing Could Improve Treatment of Maternal Hemorrhage

Postpartum hemorrhage, severe bleeding after childbirth, remains one of the leading causes of maternal mortality worldwide, yet many of these deaths are preventable. Standard care can be hindered by delays... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: When assessing the same lung biopsy sample, research shows that only 18% of pathologists will agree on a TCMR diagnosis (Photo courtesy of Thermo Fisher)

Molecular Microscope Diagnostic System Assesses Lung Transplant Rejection

Lung transplant recipients face a significant risk of rejection and often require routine biopsies to monitor graft health, yet assessing the same biopsy sample can be highly inconsistent among pathologists.... Read more