RCMG will Study Epigenetics of Obesity and Diabetes Mellitus

The laboratory of epigenetics of obesity and diabetes mellitus began work at the Research Centre for Medical Genetics. The laboratory was created within the framework of the National Project «Science and Universities» in the direction of «New Medicine» with the support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation.

The laboratory will develop advanced test systems that will allow the detection of epigenetic subtypes of obesity and diabetes. Test systems will not cause difficulties with implementation in clinical practice, as they will be adapted to domestic devices that are already used in diagnostic laboratories and have registration certificates.

Close cooperation of geneticists with clinical specialists in the field of endocrinology will allow to implement a complex approach to diagnostics and therapy of patients with obesity and diabetes mellitus.

Vladimir Sigin, PhD, Head of epigenetics laboratory for obesity and diabetes mellitus, said: “The creation of the new laboratory is dictated by the need for more detailed monitoring of the course of the disease and ultimately - the development of personalized approaches to the diagnostics and treatment of diabetes mellitus and obesity. Diabetes mellitus is an extremely complex disease that develops for many reasons, including genetic ones. A large set of genes is responsible for its development. To date, about 1,200 genes have been described in the scientific literature, and research is ongoing.

Epigenetic factors of development of diabetes mellitus and obesity in Russia have not been studied, but they can help to distinguish groups of patients with different disease progression, to assess what changes occur in their epigenome with age, as a result of the development of the disease, taking medicines, observing various diets and so on. This information will allow to form epigenetic profiles of diseases and to develop personalized approaches to treatment”.

Epigenetics is a relatively young field of genetics that studies the factors that affect genes without changing their structure. Genetic mutations are changes in the sequence of DNA, that is, its structure. Epigenetic modifications do not alter the sequence of DNA, however, as mutations can affect the functioning of genes. One such modification is methylation, that is, the attachment of methyl groups (-CH3) to nucleotides, or more precisely cytosine.  

The features of DNA methylation for pathologies such as obesity and diabetes mellitus are currently insufficiently understood. Therefore, there is a need for further research into epigenetic mechanisms, including the use of next-generation sequencing technology.

The laboratory staff has a high professional level: specialists have previously developed and introduced into practice methods of DNA diagnostics of diseases such as Beckwith-Wiedemann, Silver-Russell, Angelman, Prader-Willi, which are successfully used in RCMG. Over the past five years, the laboratory has accumulated extensive experience in developing innovative methods for diagnosing epigenetic changes, including DNA methylation. The researchers repeatedly participated in applied and fundamental works on grants of PHP, RFFI.

In order to fulfill the tasks, the collective use center «Genome» at RCMG, which has the most modern equipment, allowing to perform research work in the following areas: determination of the nucleotide sequence of DNA fragments, quantification of the level of gene expression, number of copies, allele discrimination, use of capillary electrophoresis, ensuring operation using confocal and light microscopy, conducting research of the composition, structure and basic physico-chemical properties of molecules by mass spectroscopy and chromatography methods, as well as research of physiology and cell structure.