Galeazzi M, Balistreri E, Giannitti C, Sebastiani G D
U.O.C. Reumatologia, Dipartimento Medicina Clinica e Scienze Immunologiche, Università di Siena, Italy.
Reumatismo. 2012 Mar 16;64(1):7-17. doi: 10.4081/reumatismo.2012.7.
The etiology of autoimmune diseases remains largely unknown. In recent years, besides genetic factors, several studies proposed that the epigenome may hold the key to a better understanding of autoimmunity initiation and perpetuation. More specifically epigenetic regulatory mechanisms comprise DNA methylation, a variety of histone modifications, and microRNA (miRNA) activity, all of which act upon gene and protein expression levels. In particular it is well known that epigenetic mechanisms are important for controlling the pattern of gene expression during development, the cell cycle, and the response to biological or environmental changes. In the present review a description of the most frequent epigenetic deregulations, in particular the role of miRNAs, in rheumatic autoimmune disorders will be investigated.
自身免疫性疾病的病因在很大程度上仍然未知。近年来，除了遗传因素外，一些研究表明，表观基因组可能是更好地理解自身免疫性疾病的起始和持续存在的关键。更具体地说，表观遗传调控机制包括DNA甲基化、多种组蛋白修饰以及微小RNA（miRNA）活性，所有这些都作用于基因和蛋白质表达水平。特别是，众所周知，表观遗传机制对于控制发育过程、细胞周期以及对生物或环境变化的反应中的基因表达模式非常重要。在本综述中，将研究风湿性自身免疫性疾病中最常见的表观遗传失调，特别是miRNA的作用。
