Twins in metabolic and diabetes research: What do they tell us?

Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care

Volumn 10, Issue 5, 2007, Pages 591-596

  Vaag, Allan ^a   Poulsen, Pernille ^a  

^a STENO DIABETES CENTER   (Denmark)

Author keywords

Heritability estimates; Intrauterine environment; Metabolic syndrome; Twins; Type 2 diabetes

Indexed keywords

GLUCOSE; INSULIN; MARKER;

BIRTH WEIGHT; BLOOD PRESSURE; DIABETES MELLITUS; EPIGENETICS; GENETIC ASSOCIATION; GLUCOSE METABOLISM; HERITABILITY; HUMAN; HYPERTENSION; INSULIN RELEASE; INSULIN RESISTANCE; LOW BIRTH WEIGHT; MEDICAL LITERATURE; MEDICAL RESEARCH; METABOLIC SYNDROME X; MONOZYGOTIC TWINS; MORTALITY; NON INSULIN DEPENDENT DIABETES MELLITUS; PATHOPHYSIOLOGY; PHENOTYPE; REVIEW; TWINS; UTERUS; ZYGOSITY;

BIRTH WEIGHT; BLOOD GLUCOSE; DIABETES MELLITUS, TYPE 2; ENERGY METABOLISM; FEMALE; GENETIC PREDISPOSITION TO DISEASE; HUMANS; INFANT; INSULIN; MALE; PREGNANCY; PRENATAL EXPOSURE DELAYED EFFECTS; RESEARCH; TWIN STUDIES AS TOPIC; TWINS; TWINS, DIZYGOTIC; TWINS, MONOZYGOTIC;

EID: 34547856692     PISSN: 13631950     EISSN: 15353885     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1097/MCO.0b013e3282ab9ea6     Document Type: Review

References (31)

1. Hales CN, Barker DJ. The thrifty phenotype hypothesis. Br Med Bull 2001; 60:5-20.
2. Barnett AH, Eff C, Leslie RDG, Pyke DA. Diabetes in identical twins. Diabetologia 1981; 20:87-93.
3. Poulsen P, Kyvik K, Vaag A, Beck-Nielsen H. Heritability of type 2 (noninsulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus and abnormal glucose tolerance: a population based twin study. Diabetologia 1999; 42:139-145.
4. Andersen G, Hansen T, Pedersen O. Genetics of common forms of glycaemia with pathological impact on vascular biology: are we on the right track? Curr Mol Med 2005; 5:261-274.
5. Grant SF, Thorleifsson G, Reynisdottir I, et al. Variant of transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) gene confers risk of type 2 diabetes. Nat Genet 2006; 38:320-323. Demonstration of the first true type 2 diabetes susceptibility gene, namely the TCF7L2-polymorphism.
6. Sladek R, Rocheleau G, Rung J, et al. A genome-wide association study identifies novel risk loci for type 2 diabetes. Nature 2007; 445:881-885.
7. Saxena R, Voight BF, Lyssenko V, et al. Genome-wide association analysis identifies loci for type 2 diabetes and triglyceride levels. Science 2007; 26. [Epub ahead of print]
8. Steinthorsdottir V, Thorleifsson G, Reynisdottir I, et al. A variant in CDKAL1 influences insulin response and risk of type 2 diabetes. Nat Genet 2007; 26. [Epub ahead of print]
9. Zeggini E, Weedon MN, Lindgren CM, et al. Replication of genome-wide association signals in U.K. samples reveals risk loci for type 2 diabetes. Science 2007; 26. [Epub ahead of print]
10. Frayling TM, Timpson NJ, Weedon MN, et al. A common variant in the FTO gene is associated with body mass index and predisposes to childhood and adult obesity. Science 2007; 316:889-894.
11. Owen KR, McCarthy MI. Genetics of type 2 diabetes. Curr Opin Genet Dev 2007; 17:239-244.
12. Vaag A, Henriksen JE, Madsbad S, et al. Insulin secretion, insulin action and hepatic glucose production in identical twins discordant for NIDDM. J Clin Invest 1995; 95:690-698.
13. Poulsen P, Vaag A, Kyvik K, et al. Low birth weight is associated with noninsulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) in monozygotic and dizygotic discordant twin pairs. Diabetologia 1997; 40:439-446.
14. Iliadou A, Cnattingius S, Lichtenstein P. Low birthweight and Type 2 diabetes: a study on 11 162 Swedish twins. Int J Epidemiol 2004; 33:948-953.
15. Poulsen P, Levin K, Beck-Nielsen H, Vaag A. Age dependent impact of zygosity and birth weight on insulin secretion and insulin action in twins. Diabetologia 2002; 45:1649-1657.
16. Poulsen P, Vaag A. The intrauterine environment as reflected by birth size and twin and zygosity status influences insulin action intracellular glucose metabolism in an age- or time-dependent manner. Diabetes 2006; 55:1819-1825. Documents that birth weight, twin and zygosity status (each representing independent markers of an adverse intrauterine environment) exhibit age-dependent adverse influences on several key defects of metabolism known to contribute to hyperglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes, including insulin resistance of nonoxidative glucose metabolism and an elevation of hepatic glucose production.
17. Bergvall N, Iliadou A, Johansson S, et al. Genetic and shared environmental factors do not confound the association between birth weight and hypertension: a study among Swedish twins. Circulation 2007; 21. [Epub ahead of print] Using genetically identical twins discordant for hypertension, this study provides strong evidence for that low birth weight is associated with hypertension in a nongenetic manner.
18. Poulsen P, Vaag A, Beck-Nielsen H. Does zygosity influence the metabolic profile in twins? A population based cross sectional study. BMJ 1999; 319:151-154.
19. Poulsen P, Vaag A, Beck-Nielsen H. The influence of zygosity status on blood pressure and on the plasma lipid profile in male and female twins. J Hypertens 2002; 20:645-649.
20. Poulsen P, Vaag A, Kyvik KO, Beck-Nielsen H. Genetic versus environmental aetiology of the metabolic syndrome and its various components. Diabetologia 2001; 44:537-543.
21. Poulsen P, Levin K, Petersen I, et al. Heritability of insulin secretion, peripheral and hepatic insulin action, and intracellular glucose partitioning in young and old Danish twins. Diabetes 2005; 54:275-283.
22. Poulsen P, Wojtaszewski JFP, Petersen I, et al. Impact of genetic versus environmental factors on the control of muscle glycogen synthase activation in twins. Diabetes 2005; 54:1289-1296.
23. Malis C, Rasmussen EL, Poulsen P, et al. Total and regional fat distribution is strongly influenced by genetic factors in young and elderly twins. Obes Res 2005; 13:2139-2145.
24. Grunnet L, Poulsen P, Klarlund Pedersen B, et al. Plasma cytokine levels in young and elderly twins: genes versus environment and relation to in vivo insulin action. Diabetologia 2006; 49:343-350.
25. Storgaard H, Poulsen P, Ling C, et al. Genetic and nongenetic determinants of skeletal muscle glucose transporter 4 messenger ribonucleic acid levels and insulin action in twins. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2006; 91:702-708.
26. Storgaard H, Poulsen P, Ling C, et al. Relationships of plasma adiponectin level and adiponectin receptors 1 and 2 gene expression to insulin sensitivity and glucose and fat metabolism in monozygotic and dizygotic twins. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2007; 10. [Epub ahead of print]
27. Ling C, Poulsen P, Carlsson E, et al. Multiple environmental and genetic factors influence skeletal muscle PGC-1α and PGC-1β gene expression in twins. J Clin Invest 2004; 114:1518-1526.
28. Christensen K, Vaupel JW, Holm NV, Yashin AI. Mortality among twins after age 6: fetal origins hypothesis versus twin method. BMJ 1995; 310:432-436.
29. Poulsen P, Andersen G, Fenger M, et al. Impact of two common polymorphisms in the PPAR-gamma gene on glucose tolerance and plasma insulin profiles in monozygotic and dizygotic twins: thrifty genotype, thrifty phenotype, or both? Diabetes 2003; 52:194-198.
30. Fraga MF, Ballestar E, Paz MF, et al. From the cover: epigenetic differences arise during the lifetime of monozygotic twins. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2005; 102:10604-10609.
31. Poulsen P, Esteller M, Vaag A, Fraga MF. The epigenetic basis of twin discordance in age-related diseases. Pediatr Res 2007; 61:38R-42R.