• Jing Zhang, Long-Min Chen, Yuan Zou, Shu Zhang, Fei Xiong, and Cong-Yi Wang.
• Center for Biomedical Research, NHC Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Tongji Hospital Research Building, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430000, China.
• Chin. Med. J. 2021 Apr 1; 134 (9): 1031-1042.

AbstractType 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease that resulted from the severe destruction of the insulin-producing β cells in the pancreases of individuals with a genetic predisposition. Genome-wide studies have identified HLA and other risk genes associated with T1D susceptibility in humans. However, evidence obtained from the incomplete concordance of diabetes incidence among monozygotic twins suggests that environmental factors also play critical roles in T1D pathogenesis. Epigenetics is a rapidly growing field that serves as a bridge to link T1D risk genes and environmental exposures, thereby modulating the expression of critical genes relevant to T1D development beyond the changes of DNA sequences. Indeed, there is compelling evidence that epigenetic changes induced by environmental insults are implicated in T1D pathogenesis. Herein, we sought to summarize the recent progress in terms of epigenetic mechanisms in T1D initiation and progression, and discuss their potential as biomarkers and therapeutic targets in the T1D setting.Copyright © 2021 The Chinese Medical Association, produced by Wolters Kluwer, Inc. under the CC-BY-NC-ND license.

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