Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease that leads to insulin deficiency and hyperglycemia. Little is known about how this metabolic dysfunction, which substantially alters the internal environment, forces cells to adapt through epigenetic mechanisms. Consequently, the purpose of this work was to study what changes occur in the epigenome of T1D patients after the onset of disease and in the context of poor metabolic control. We performed a genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation patterns in blood samples from 18 T1D patients with varying levels of metabolic control. We identified T1D-associated DNA methylation differences on more than 100 genes when compared with healthy controls. Interestingly, only T1D patients displaying poor glycemic control showed epigenetic age acceleration compared to healthy controls. The epigenetic alterations identified in this work make a valuable contribution to improving our understanding of T1D and to ensuring the appropriate management of the disease in relation to maintaining healthy aging.
Keywords: DNA methylation; PhenoAge; age acceleration; epigenetic aging; metabolic control; type 1 diabetes.