The researchers hypothesized that the epigenetic marking which is influenced by the environment - the food we eat, the food our mothers ate during pregnancy, exposure to various chemicals and toxins - may prevent the proper functioning of the genes and cause disease
A team of researchers from the School of Medicine at the Hebrew University, led by Dr. Assaf Hellman and his research partners Prof. Ben Glazer and Prof. Jeremy Karak, found a method for the early detection of diseases such as diabetes in adults, by mapping the epigenetic markers, supragenetic molecular additions that attach to DNA without changing its sequence, yet having a strong effect on gene activity. The discovery may contribute to the development of drugs and preventive measures for these diseases.
Until now, it was customary to map the sequence of DNA molecules and look for changes that distinguish sick people from healthy people. The researchers hypothesized that the epigenetic marking which is influenced by the environment - the food we eat, the food our mothers ate during pregnancy, exposure to various chemicals and toxins - may prevent the genes from functioning properly and cause disease, even when the DNA sequence is completely normal.
In order to test their hypothesis, the researchers mapped the epigenomes of hundreds of diabetic patients and compared them to the epigenomes of healthy people. They found epigenetic differences in the same regions where DNA molecule mapping had previously shown differences between patients and healthy people. But while the DNA mapping shows the changes only in a small part of the patients and in a way that does not well predict the risk of contracting the disease, the differences in the epigenomes were found among a large number of patients and they make it possible to distinguish more precisely between the sick and the healthy.
According to Dr. Hellman, "This method of epigenome mapping allows for a more effective prediction of the risk of contracting the disease among young people in whom other signs of the disease have not yet been discovered. From this we can learn that there is a central supragenetic component in the mechanism responsible for the development of diabetes." This discovery is a breakthrough in the study of the mechanism of diabetes and other complex diseases, including metabolic, autoimmune and psychiatric diseases.
The study was accepted for publication in the esteemed journal Human Molecular Genetics. Research students Gideon Toprov and Devir Haran participated in the study, as well as Prof. Yehiel Friedlander from the School of Public Health at the Hebrew University, Prof. Efrat Levy-Lahad from the Genetic Center in Shaare Zedek, and other researchers from the Israel Center for Diabetes Research.
