Aim: Statins lower cholesterol and reduce the
risk of cardiovascular disease. However, the exact mechanisms of statins remain
unknown. We investigated whether statin therapy associate with epigenetics in
type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients. Material & Methods: DNA methylation was
analysed in blood from newly diagnosed T2D patients from ANDIS and in a
replication cohort (ANDiU). Results: 79 sites were differentially methylated
between cases on statins and controls (FDR<5%) in ANDIS. These include
previously statin-associated methylation sites annotated to DHCR24
(cg17901584), ABCG1 (cg27243685), and SC4MOL (cg05119988). Differential
methylation of two sites related to cholesterol biosynthesis and immune
response, cg17901584 (DHCR24) and cg23011663 (ARIH2), were replicated in ANDiU.
Conclusion: Statin therapy associates with epigenetic modifications in T2D
patients.
Funding
Novo nordisk foundation, Swedish Research Council, Region Skåne (ALF), H2020-Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 706081 (EpiHope), Hjärt Lund fonden, Exodiab, Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research for IRC15-0067, Swedish Diabetes Foundation, ERC-Co grant (PAINTBOX no 725840).
