OBEDIA-MARK · EPIGENETIC MARKERS OF DISEASE STATUS AND REVERSAL FOR PERSONALIZED MANAGEMENT OF OBESITY AND DIABETES
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2016-06-20 → 2019-06-19
- EU contribution
- €243,209
- Participants
- 2
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
EPIGENETIC MARKERS OF DISEASE STATUS AND REVERSAL FOR PERSONALIZED MANAGEMENT OF OBESITY AND DIABETES
What is the problem/issue being addressed? Current genetic biomarkers have low power to predict the onset of lifestyle-related disease such as obesity and type-2 diabetes as they cannot account for environmental factors, which play a major role in the development of these conditions. Why is it important for society? Obesity and associated diseases such as type 2 diabetes are one of the leading causes of death and public expenditure worldwide. Early detection of these diseases before symptoms arise may enable effective prevention and intervention thus turning the tide against these diseases. What are the overall objectives? The overall goal of OBEDIA-MARK is to advance the field of precision medicine for obesity-associated diseases such as type-2 diabetes by identifying biomarkers and individual characteristics that enable early detection and personalized intervention. The project had three specific objectives: Objective 1: Identification of epigenetic biomarkers of type-2 diabetes for the development of preventive personalized dietary intervention. Epigenetic modifications are chemical groups that bind to our genes turning them on or off. Unlike genetic sequence epigenetic “switches” dynamically change in response to environmental factors, such as diet, thereby affecting our health and disease risk. Objective 2: Assessing sex differences in weight loss response for the development of preventive personalized dietary intervention. Men and women differ in their body composition, energy expenditure, and hormonal status. These biological sex differences together with sociocultural gender norms lead to differences in the way men and women follow a certain diet and lose weight on it. Objective 3: Determining diet-specific metabolic changes for the development of preventive personalized dietary intervention.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Epigenetic marks such as DNA methylation (DNAm) can store cell memories of past life experiences. Thanks to this property, these marks hold great potential as biomarkers for personalized management of diseases arising from gene-environment interactions such as obesity and associated disorders. However, realizing this potential requires large-scale longitudinal studies that evaluate epigenetic markers under consideration of pertinent lifestyle and genetic factors. The goal of the proposed project is to fill this research gap by identifying, for the first time in a large-scale longitudinal study, epigenetic biomarkers of disease status and reversal for personalized management of obesity and diabetes. To attain this goal I will i) Identify overweight -associated DNAm markers by comparing DNAm patterns of 400 obese subjects before and after a randomized controlled weight-loss intervention, ii) Assess the relationship of the identified markers with gene-diet interactions, and their reversibility in response to weight-loss, iii) Test the validity of these markers, alone and in combination with genetic analysis, as biomarkers for prediction of weight-loss performance and diabetes status/reversal. Expected outcomes: I) Drive innovation in personalized medicine by identifying epigenetic markers of disease status and reversal in obesity and diabetes, ii) Expand our understanding of how epigenetic, genetic and dietary factors interact with each other in the development and reversal of obesity, iii) Equip me with the knowledge and skills needed to become an independent scientist. The quality of the research, hosting arrangements and collaborations will provide me with the best opportunities to expand my expertise in epigenetics, apply it to research on human disease, and reinforce my professional maturity for securing a faculty position in Europe.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITAT WIEN · WienCoordinatorAustria
- BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY · STANFORDUnited States
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union