Early DNA methylation changes in children developing beta cell autoimmunity at a young age – published online 10/02/2022

Inna Starskaia, Essi Laajala, Toni Grönroos, Taina Härkönen, Sini Junttila, Roosa Kattelus, Henna Kallionpää, Asta Laiho, Veronika Suni, Vallo Tillmann, Riikka Lund, Laura L. Elo, Harri Lähdesmäki, Mikael Knip, Ubaid Ullah Kalim, Riitta Lahesmaa

DNA methylation changes associated with type 1 diabetes were previously detected in individuals clinically diagnosed with the disease. Recently, using array-based methods, these changes were also detected in whole blood samples from individuals before they developed diabetes. In this issue, Starskaia et al (https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-022-05657-x) use genome-wide reduced representation bisulphite sequencing to detect cell type-specific DNA methylation changes associated with type 1 diabetes before clinical diagnosis, and even before the appearance of autoantibodies. The authors conclude that the early epigenetic changes associated with type 1 diabetes identified in this study may contribute to pathogenesis and provide basis for the early detection of diabetes.

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