Epigenetic Changes in Chronic Inflammatory Diseases

Publication date: Available online 18 October 2016 Source:Advances in Protein Chemistry and Structural Biology Author(s): O. Fogel, C. Richard-Miceli, J. Tost The number of people diagnosed with chronic inflammatory diseases has increased noteworthy in the last 40 years. Spondyloarthritis (SpA), inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), and psoriasis are the most frequent chronic inflammatory diseases, resulting from a combination of genetic predisposition and environmental factors. Epigenetic modifications include DNA methylation, histone modifications, and small and long noncoding RNAs. They are influenced by environmental exposure, life-style, and aging and have recently been shown to be altered in many complex diseases including inflammatory diseases. While epigenetic modifications have been well characterized in other diseases such as cancer and autoimmune diseases, knowledge on changes in inflammatory diseases is lagging behind with some disease-specific differences. While the DNA methylation profile of different cell types in patients with IBD has been relatively well described, less is known on changes implicated in psoriasis, and no systematic genome-wide studies have so far been performed in SpA. In this chapter, we review in detail the reported changes in patterns of DNA methylation and posttranslational histone modifications in chronic inflammatory diseases highlighting potential connections between disease-associated pathophysiological changes such as the dysb...

Source: Advances in Protein Chemistry and Structural Biology - October 19, 2016 Category: Biochemistry Source Type: research