School of Medicine, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand.
Research Center in Tropical Pathobiology, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand.
J Clin Lab Anal. 2023 Sep;37(17-18):e24966. doi: 10.1002/jcla.24966. Epub 2023 Sep 24.
Alu hypomethylation is a common epigenetic process that promotes genomic instability with aging phenotypes, which leads to type 2 diabetes mellitus (type 2 DM). Previously, our results showed significantly decreased Alu methylation levels in type 2 DM patients. In this study, we aimed to investigate the longitudinal changes in Alu methylation levels in these patients.
We observed significantly decreased Alu methylation levels in type 2 DM patients compared with normal (p = 0.0462). Moreover, our findings demonstrated changes in Alu hypomethylation over a follow-up period within the same individuals (p < 0.0001). A reduction in Alu methylation was found in patients with increasing HbA1c levels (p = 0.0013) and directly correlated with increased HbA1c levels in type 2 DM patients (r = -0.2273, p = 0.0387).
Alu methylation in type 2 DM patients progressively decreases with increasing HbA1c levels. This observation suggests a potential association between Alu hypomethylation and the underlying molecular mechanisms of elevated blood glucose. Furthermore, monitoring Alu methylation levels may serve as a valuable biomarker for assessing the clinical outcomes of type 2 DM.
Alu 低甲基化是一种常见的表观遗传过程，随着衰老表型的出现，导致 2 型糖尿病（type 2 DM）。先前，我们的研究结果表明 2 型糖尿病患者的 Alu 甲基化水平显著降低。在这项研究中，我们旨在研究这些患者的 Alu 甲基化水平的纵向变化。
与正常对照组相比，2 型糖尿病患者的 Alu 甲基化水平显著降低（p=0.0462）。此外，我们的研究结果表明，在同一人群中，Alu 低甲基化发生了变化（p<0.0001）。在 HbA1c 水平升高的患者中发现 Alu 甲基化减少（p=0.0013），并与 2 型糖尿病患者 HbA1c 水平升高直接相关（r=-0.2273，p=0.0387）。
随着 HbA1c 水平的升高，2 型糖尿病患者的 Alu 甲基化水平逐渐降低。这一观察结果提示 Alu 低甲基化与升高的血糖水平的潜在分子机制之间存在关联。此外，监测 Alu 甲基化水平可能是评估 2 型糖尿病临床结局的有价值的生物标志物。
