Altered DNA methylation of glycolytic and lipogenic genes in liver from obese and type 2 diabetic patients

OBJECTIVE: Epigenetic modifications contribute to the etiology of type 2 diabetes.  METHOD: We performed genome-wide methylome and transcriptome analysis in liver from severely obese men with or without type 2 diabetes and non-obese men to discover aberrant pathways underlying the development of insulin resistance. Results were validated by pyrosequencing.  RESULT: We identified hypomethylation of genes involved in hepatic glycolysis and insulin resistance, concomitant with increased mRNA expression and protein levels. Pyrosequencing revealed the CpG-site within ATF-motifs was hypomethylated in four of these genes in liver of severely obese non-diabetic and type 2 diabetic patients, suggesting epigenetic regulation of transcription by altered ATF-DNA binding.  CONCLUSION: Severely obese non-diabetic and type 2 diabetic patients have distinct alterations in the hepatic methylome and transcriptome, with hypomethylation of several genes controlling glucose metabolism within the ATF-motif regulatory site. Obesity appears to shift the epigenetic program of the liver towards increased glycolysis and lipogenesis, which may exacerbate the development of insulin resistance

Embryonic Stem Cell (ES)-Specific Enhancers Specify the Expression Potential of ES Genes in Cancer.

Cancers often display gene expression profiles resembling those of undifferentiated cells. The mechanisms controlling these expression programs have yet to be identified. Exploring transcriptional enhancers throughout hematopoietic cell development and derived cancers, we uncovered a novel class of regulatory epigenetic mutations. These epimutations are particularly enriched in a group of enhancers, designated ES-specific enhancers (ESSEs) of the hematopoietic cell lineage. We found that hematopoietic ESSEs are prone to DNA methylation changes, indicative of their chromatin activity states. Strikingly, ESSE methylation is associated with gene transcriptional activity in cancer. Methylated ESSEs are hypermethylated in cancer relative to normal somatic cells and co-localized with silenced genes, whereas unmethylated ESSEs tend to be hypomethylated in cancer and associated with reactivated genes. Constitutive or hematopoietic stem cell-specific enhancers do not show these trends, suggesting selective reactivation of ESSEs in cancer. Further analyses of a hypomethylated ESSE downstream to the VEGFA gene revealed a novel regulatory circuit affecting VEGFA transcript levels across cancers and patients. We suggest that the discovered enhancer sites provide a framework for reactivation of ES genes in cancer