Genome-Wide DNA Methylation Analysis of Human Pancreatic Islets from Type 2 Diabetic and Non-Diabetic Donors Identifies Candidate Genes That Influence Insulin Secretion

Abstract

Impaired insulin secretion is a hallmark of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Epigenetics may affect disease susceptibility. To describe the human methylome in pancreatic islets and determine the epigenetic basis of T2D, we analyzed DNA methylation of 479,927 CpG sites and the transcriptome in pancreatic islets from T2D and non-diabetic donors. We provide a detailed map of the global DNA methylation pattern in human islets, β- and α-cells. Genomic regions close to the transcription start site showed low degrees of methylation and regions further away from the transcription start site such as the gene body, 3′UTR and intergenic regions showed a higher degree of methylation. While CpG islands were hypomethylated, the surrounding 2 kb shores showed an intermediate degree of methylation, whereas regions further away (shelves and open sea) were hypermethylated in human islets, β- and α-cells. We identified 1,649 CpG sites and 853 genes, including TCF7L2, FTO and KCNQ1, with differential DNA methylation in T2D islets after correction for multiple testing. The majority of the differentially methylated CpG sites had an intermediate degree of methylation and were underrepresented in CpG islands (∼7%) and overrepresented in the open sea (∼60%). 102 of the differentially methylated genes, including CDKN1A, PDE7B, SEPT9 and EXOC3L2, were differentially expressed in T2D islets. Methylation of CDKN1A and PDE7B promoters in vitro suppressed their transcriptional activity. Functional analyses demonstrated that identified candidate genes affect pancreatic β- and α-cells as Exoc3l silencing reduced exocytosis and overexpression of Cdkn1a, Pde7b and Sept9 perturbed insulin and glucagon secretion in clonal β- and α-cells, respectively. Together, our data can serve as a reference methylome in human islets. We provide new target genes with altered DNA methylation and expression in human T2D islets that contribute to perturbed insulin and glucagon secretion. These results highlight the importance of epigenetics in the pathogenesis of T2D.

Author Summary

Epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation are implicated in the development of human disease. However, genome-wide epigenetic analyses in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) remain scarce. In this study we aimed to unravel the epigenetic basis of T2D by analyzing DNA methylation of 479,927 CpG sites in human pancreatic islets from T2D and non-diabetic donors. We identified 1,649 CpG sites and 853 genes with differential DNA methylation (fold change 6–59%) in T2D islets. These include reported diabetes loci, such as TCF7L2, FTO and KCNQ1. Furthermore, we found 102 genes that showed both differential DNA methylation and gene expression in T2D islets, including CDKN1A, PDE7B, SEPT9 and EXOC3L2. Finally, we provide functional proof that identified candidate genes directly affect insulin secretion and exocytosis in pancreatic β-cells as well as glucagon secretion in α-cells. Overall, this study provides a detailed map of the methylome in human pancreatic islets and demonstrates that altered DNA methylation in human islets contributes to perturbed hormone secretion and the pathogenesis of T2D.