naica® Microdroplet Chip Digital PCR System Accurately Quantifies DNA Methylation Levels of Insulin-Encoding Genes

In the past decades, the incidence rate of diabetes has increased significantly worldwide. In addition to unhealthy lifestyle, environmental pollutants are considered to be risk factors for diabetes. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a class of organic compounds containing 2-7 aromatic rings, which are widely present pollutants generated by natural and human activities. Epidemiological studies have shown that PAHs levels are associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes in adults and children.

Researchers from the State Key Laboratory of Cell Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University published an article on Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety entitled "Natural exposure to a mixture of PAHs causes the dynamics of ISLET cells in adult male mice: Association with type 1 diabetes metals". The application of naica® in the text. The droplet chip digital PCR system quantified the DNA methylation level of insulin encoding genes, revealing the adverse effects of prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon mixtures on pancreatic islet cell function in adult male mice.

Highlights:

▶   Using Naica ® Quantification of promoter methylation levels of insulin coding genes using a droplet chip digital PCR system.

▶  In mice exposed to 500 µg/kg PAHs before delivery, the methylation level of the insulin coding gene promoter was significantly increased.

▶  Prenatal exposure to PAHs may promote the onset of type I diabetes.

In order to study the effect of prenatal PAHs on the function and quality of pancreatic islet cells in adulthood, the authors conducted experiments with a mixture of eight PAHs, and tried to clarify the environmental causes of type I diabetes. They isolated the islets of adult male mice and analyzed the methylation levels of the promoter DNA of insulin coding genes.