Analysis of sex differences in DNA methylation in human pancreatic islets. Homo sapiens

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. Overall design: 53 male and 34 female human pancreatic islet samples. Normally methylated, non-methylated and fully methylated human DNA samples were included as controls