表观遗传学在2型糖尿病发病及防治中的作用

Role of epigenetics in the pathogenesis, prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes

2型糖尿病（T2DM）的病因和发病机制较为复杂，至今未完全明了。最新研究发现，能量代谢失调或宫内营养障碍等环境因素可以导致DNA甲基化和组蛋白修饰等表观遗传学变化，进而产生“代谢记忆”，影响胰岛B细胞的发育和分泌功能，降低机体对胰岛素的敏感性等，最终导致T2DM的发生。这些表观遗传学改变可被诸如特殊饮食、药物及生活方式重塑等方法予以纠正和逆转，这为T2DM的预防提供了新的思路，为治疗提供了潜在的药物靶点。本文就表观遗传学在T2DM发病及防治中作用的研究进展进行综述，并展望未来表观遗传学在T2DM领域的研究重点和方向。

Type 2 diabetes is one of the most common and complex diseases, and the mechanism related to type 2 diabetes remains unclear. Latest studies suggest that environmental factors, such as energy decompensation or intrauterine growth retardation, can cause epigenetic changes like DNA methylation and chromatin histone modification, then cause ＂metabolic memory＂ , and affect islet beta cell function and development, reduce insulin sensitivity and so on. Finally, epigenetic changes result in the development of type 2 diabetes. But those epigenetic changes can he corrected by special diet, drugs and life styles. These studies suggest that the epigenetic mechanism may be responsible for the development of type 2 diabetes, and provide a new measure to prevent and treat type 2 diabetes. This review summarizes the relationship of epigenetics with the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes and reveals the role of epigenetics in diabetic prevention and treatment. Moreover, it prospects future studies in this area.