Epigenetics: A Molecular Link Between Environmental Factors and Type 2 Diabetes

A lthough obesity, reduced physical activity, andaging increase susceptibility to type 2 diabetes,many people exposed to these risk factors donot develop the disease. Recent genome-wide association studies have identified a number of genetic variants that explain some of the interindividual variation in diabetes susceptibility (1–5). There is also a growing body of literature suggesting a role for epigenetic factors in the complex interplay between genes and the environ-ment. Nevertheless, our knowledge about the molecular mechanisms linking environmental factors and type 2 diabetes still remains limited. This perspective will pro-vide some insights into epigenetic mechanisms associated with type 2 diabetes.…

• EL
  Eli Lilly and Company
• LU
  Lunds Universitet
• V
  Vetenskapsrådet