He Shi-kun, Li Xiao-hua
Doheny Eye Institute, Keck School of Medicine,University of South California, Los angeles 90033,USA. Email:
Zhonghua Yan Ke Za Zhi. 2013 Jul;49(7):580-5.
Growing evidences show that the pathogenesis of majority human diseases is influenced by the abnormalities of epigenetic and genetic mechanism. The major epigenetic factors such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, and microRNA (miRNA) interact with each other to regulate gene expression and determine cell phenotype.Epigenetics is currently become a hot topic of biomedical research, which focus on how whole genome is regulated by epigenetics mechanism and its roles in life development, senescence, regeneration, tumorgenesis and the pathogenesis of complex disease. The occurrence of variety of eye diseases may be mediated through the interaction of environmental and genetic factors which in turn regulated by epigenetic mechanisms.Emphasizing the epigenetic research in eye may provide a new insight of the understanding of pathogenesis of complex eye disease and a novel approach of its treatment.
越来越多的证据表明，大多数人类疾病的发病机制受到表观遗传和遗传机制异常的影响。主要的表观遗传因素，如DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰和微小RNA（miRNA）相互作用，以调节基因表达并决定细胞表型。表观遗传学目前已成为生物医学研究的热点话题，其重点在于全基因组如何受表观遗传机制调控及其在生命发育、衰老、再生、肿瘤发生和复杂疾病发病机制中的作用。多种眼部疾病的发生可能是通过环境和遗传因素的相互作用介导的，而这些因素又受表观遗传机制调控。重视眼部表观遗传学研究可能为理解复杂眼病的发病机制提供新的视角，并为其治疗提供新方法。
