Institut Pasteur, Unité des Interactions Bactéries-Cellules, Paris F-75015, France.
Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. 2012 Dec 1;2(12):a010272. doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a010272.
Epigenetic mechanisms regulate expression of the genome to generate various cell types during development or orchestrate cellular responses to external stimuli. Recent studies highlight that bacteria can affect the chromatin structure and transcriptional program of host cells by influencing diverse epigenetic factors (i.e., histone modifications, DNA methylation, chromatin-associated complexes, noncoding RNAs, and RNA splicing factors). In this article, we first review the molecular bases of the epigenetic language and then describe the current state of research regarding how bacteria can alter epigenetic marks and machineries. Bacterial-induced epigenetic deregulations may affect host cell function either to promote host defense or to allow pathogen persistence. Thus, pathogenic bacteria can be considered as potential epimutagens able to reshape the epigenome. Their effects might generate specific, long-lasting imprints on host cells, leading to a memory of infection that influences immunity and might be at the origin of unexplained diseases.
表观遗传机制调节基因组的表达,以在发育过程中产生各种细胞类型,或协调细胞对外部刺激的反应。最近的研究强调,细菌可以通过影响各种表观遗传因子(即组蛋白修饰、DNA 甲基化、染色质相关复合物、非编码 RNA 和 RNA 剪接因子)来影响宿主细胞的染色质结构和转录程序。在本文中,我们首先回顾了表观遗传语言的分子基础,然后描述了目前关于细菌如何改变表观遗传标记和机制的研究现状。细菌诱导的表观遗传失调可能会影响宿主细胞的功能,以促进宿主防御或允许病原体持续存在。因此,致病菌可以被视为潜在的表观诱变剂,能够重塑表观基因组。它们的影响可能会在宿主细胞上产生特定的、持久的印记,导致对感染的记忆,从而影响免疫,并可能是不明原因疾病的根源。