Presentation description

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) disproportionately affects Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI), highlighting the need to explore the genetic and epigenetic factors that may contribute to this disparity. DNA methylation, an epigenetic modification that occurs at cytosine and guanine dinucleotides (CpG) sites to form 5-methylcytosines and are known to regulate gene expression, has been implicated in the development and progression of various diseases, including T2D. Given these associations, we hypothesized that DNA methylation could play a crucial role in T2D among NHPI individuals. This study aims to identify specific patterns of DNA methylation associated with T2D status in individuals of NHPI ancestry. Blood samples were collected from 23 individuals of Pacific Islander descent, including 11 individuals diagnosed with T2D and 12 non-diabetic controls. Whole-genome sequencing was performed using PacBio sequencing technology to obtain high-resolution DNA methylation profiles. Computational analysis involved aligning DNA sequences and calculating methylation scores for CpG sites across the genome. These scores were mapped to known CpG island regions using a reference genome, producing average methylation scores for each CpG island. Statistical analysis compared the average methylation scores between diabetic and non-diabetic individuals to identify significant differences. Several CpG islands exhibited statistically significant differences in average methylation scores between the diabetic and non-diabetic groups, suggesting that epigenetic markers are associated with T2D in NHPI populations and that specific CpG islands with altered methylation patterns may be linked to T2D risk in NHPI individuals. These results warrant further investigation into the functional roles of these genomic regions and their contribution to T2D pathogenesis. Understanding these epigenetic modifications could provide insights to targeted prevention and treatment strategies for T2D in NHPI populations.