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    Cardiovascular disease (CVD), the main complication of diabetes mellitus (DM), accounts for a high percentage of mortality in diabetic patients. Endothelial dysfunction is a major causative event in the pathogenesis of diabetes-related vascular disease and the earliest symptom of vascular injury. Epigenetic modification plays a key role in the initiation, maintenance, and progression of both endothelial dysfunction and diabetes. Epigenetic alterations respond to the environment and mediate the 'legacy effect' of uncontrolled hyperglycaemia early in the disease despite thorough glycaemic control in a phenomenon called metabolic memory. Therefore, an understanding of the integrated system of different epigenetic mechanisms in DM and its vascular complications is urgently needed. This review summarizes aberrant epigenetic regulation under diabetic conditions, including histone modifications, DNA methylation, and non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). Understanding the connections between these processes and DM may reveal a novel potential therapeutic target for diabetic vascular complications.
    Endothelial Dysfunction
    Pathogenesis
    Citations (29)
    Epigenetic modifications play a fundamental role in the progression of coronary artery disease (CAD). This panoramic review aims to provide an overview of the current understanding of the epigenetic mechanisms involved in CAD pathogenesis and highlights the potential implications for personalized medicine approaches. Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes that do not influence alterations in the DNA sequence of the genome. It has been shown that epigenetic processes, including DNA/histone methylation, acetylation, and phosphorylation, play an important role. Additionally, miRNAs, lncRNAs, and circRNAs are also involved in epigenetics, regulating gene expression patterns in response to various environmental factors and lifestyle choices. In the context of CAD, epigenetic alterations contribute to the dysregulation of genes involved in inflammation, oxidative stress, lipid metabolism, and vascular function. These epigenetic changes can occur during early developmental stages and persist throughout life, predisposing individuals to an increased risk of CAD. Furthermore, in recent years, the concept of personalized medicine has gained significant attention. Personalized medicine aims to tailor medical interventions based on an individual’s unique genetic, epigenetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. In the context of CAD, understanding the interplay between genetic variants and epigenetic modifications holds promise for the development of more precise diagnostic tools, risk stratification models, and targeted therapies. This review summarizes the current knowledge of epigenetic mechanisms in CAD and discusses the fundamental principles of personalized medicine.
    Personalized Medicine
    Abstract Migraine is a disabling common brain disorder typically characterized by attacks of severe headache and associated with autonomic and neurological symptoms. Its etiology is far from resolved. This review will focus on evidence that epigenetic mechanisms play an important role in disease etiology. Epigenetics comprise both DNA methylation and post-translational modifications of the tails of histone proteins, affecting chromatin structure and gene expression. Besides playing a role in establishing cellular and developmental stage-specific regulation of gene expression, epigenetic processes are also important for programming lasting cellular responses to environmental signals. Epigenetic mechanisms may explain how non-genetic endogenous and exogenous factors such as female sex hormones, stress hormones and inflammation trigger may modulate attack frequency. Developing drugs that specifically target epigenetic mechanisms may open up exciting new avenues for the prophylactic treatment of migraine.
    Citations (99)
    Epigenetics is a rapidly developing science that has gained a lot of interest in recent years due to the correlation between characteristic epigenetic marks and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Epigenetic modifications contribute to a change in gene expression while maintaining the DNA sequence. The analysis of these modifications provides a thorough insight into the cardiovascular system from its development to its further functioning. Epigenetics is strongly influenced by environmental factors, including known cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking, obesity, and low physical activity. Similarly, conditions affecting the local microenvironment of cells, such as chronic inflammation, worsen the prognosis in cardiovascular diseases and additionally induce further epigenetic modifications leading to the consolidation of unfavorable cardiovascular changes. A deeper understanding of epigenetics may provide an answer to the continuing strong clinical impact of cardiovascular diseases by improving diagnostic capabilities, personalized medical approaches and the development of targeted therapeutic interventions. The aim of the study was to present selected epigenetic pathways, their significance in cardiovascular diseases, and their potential as a therapeutic target in specific medical conditions.
    Citations (5)
    Epigenetic regulation of gene expression allows the organism to respond/adapt to environmental conditions without changing the gene coding sequence. Epigenetic modifications have also been found to control gene expression in various diseases, including diabetes. Epigenetic changes induced by hyperglycemia in multiple target organs contribute to metabolic memory of diabetic complications. The long-lasting development of diabetic complications even after achieving glucose control has been partly attributed to epigenetic changes in target cells. Specific epigenetic drugs might rescue chromatin conformation associated to hyperglycemia possibly slowing down the onset of diabetes-related complications. The current review will describe the updated epigenetics in diabetes that can be used to personalize a more focused treatment.
    Epigenesis
    Citations (15)
    Epigenetics describes the study of cellular modifications that can modify the expression of genes without changing the DNA sequence. DNA methylation is one of the most stable and prevalent epigenetic mechanisms. Twin studies have been a valuable model for unraveling the genetic and epigenetic epidemiology of complex traits, and now offer a potential to dissect the factors that impact DNA methylation variability and its biomedical significance. The twin design specifically allows for the study of genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors, and their potential interactions, on epigenetic profiles. Furthermore, genetically identical twins offer a unique opportunity to assess nongenetic impacts on epigenetic profiles. Here, we summarize recent findings from twin studies of DNA methylation profiles across tissues, to define current knowledge regarding the genetic and nongenetic factors that influence epigenetic variation.
    Citations (30)
    TOBACCO AND DNA METHYLATION THE CASE FOR EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS The mechanisms of the long-term impacts of exposure to chemical substances remain poorly understood. While genotoxic and mutagenic effects have been well characterized, epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation could also account for the delayed effects of exposures. It is in the case of tobacco that the strongest arguments for a role of these mechanisms have been obtained in human populations. This text presents recent data on this issue demonstrating the plausibility of epigenetic mechanisms to explain the persistence of biological signals long after stopping exposure.
    Epigenesis
    Citations (0)
    The novel genome-wide assays of epigenetic marks have resulted in a greater understanding of how genetics and the environment interact in the development and inheritance of diabetes. Chronic hyperglycemia induces epigenetic changes in multiple organs, contributing to diabetic complications. Specific epigenetic-modifying compounds have been developed to erase these modifications, possibly slowing down the onset of diabetes-related complications. The current review is an update of the previously published paper, describing the most recent advances in the epigenetics of diabetes.
    Inheritance
    Citations (8)
    Transient nutritional exposures during critical ontogenic periods can cause persistent changes in gene expression, metabolism, and risk of various diseases. We have been investigating whether such ‘developmental programming’ occurs via nutritional influences on developmental epigenetics. Our studies in agouti viable yellow and axin-fused mice showed that developmental establishment of DNA methylation at ‘metastable epialleles’ is especially sensitive to maternal nutritional status around the time of conception. At metastable epialleles, DNA methylation is established stochastically in the early embryo and subsequently maintained during differentiation of diverse lineages, resulting in systemic interindividual epigenetic variation that is not genetically mediated. Lately, using a multiple-tissue screen for interindividual variation in DNA methylation, we have identified human genomic regions that appear to be metastable epialleles. Stochastic establishment of DNA methylation at these loci is affected by maternal nutrition around the time of conception, consistent across multiple tissues, and stable for many years. Most recently, our studies using genome-wide bisulfite sequencing have identified candidate metastable epialleles that are associated with human disease, providing exciting opportunities for epigenetic epidemiology.
    Epigenesis
    Epigenomics
    Genomic Imprinting
    Citations (0)