Analysis of sex differences in DNA methylation in human pancreatic islets

Epigenetic factors regulate tissue-specific expression and X-chromosome inactivation. Previous studies have identified epigenetic differences between sexes in some human tissues. However, it is unclear whether epigenetic modifications contribute to sex-specific differences in insulin secretion and metabolism. In this study, we investigated the impact of sex on the genome-wide DNA methylation pattern in human pancreatic islets from 53 males and 34 females, and related the methylome to changes in expression and insulin secretion. 53 male and 34 female human pancreatic islet samples. Normally methylated, non-methylated and fully methylated human DNA samples were included as controls