Development of a predictive marker for the development of NAFLD based on targeting leukocyte DNA methylation

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K24172
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0908:Society medicine, nursing, and related fields
• Research Institution: Kagawa Prefectural College of Health Sciences
• Principal Investigator: YAMAZAKI Mirai 香川県立保健医療大学, 保健医療学部, 助教 (10778096)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-08-30 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: DNAメチル化 / NAFLD / 脂肪肝 / TXNIP

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, we investigated the association between fatty liver and leukocyte DNA methylation in a population-based study to establish a novel biomarker for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The association between methylation levels of three genes, HIF3A, TXNIP and SOCS, and fatty liver was analyzed. As a result, the TXNIP methylation level was significantly lower in those with fatty liver than in those without fatty liver. Furthermore, categorization of fatty liver by severity and analysis of the association with DNA methylation levels showed that the TXNIP methylation level was significantly lower in those with severe fatty liver than in those without fatty liver.

Free Research Field

検査医学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

近年先進国においてNAFLDが急増しており、国内においても1000 万人以上に達すると推定されている。NAFLDは肝硬変・肝がんに進展するだけではなく、生活習慣病の発症・発展にも関わってため、早期発見が重要課題となっている。DNAメチル化は後天的に遺伝子発現を制御するエピジェネティクス機構の一つであり、疾患の発症・発展に寄与するとされている。疫学研究によりNAFLDとDNAメチル化との関連についてエビデンスを構築することは、DNAメチル化を利用した新たな検査法の開発に貢献することが期待できる。