Aslibekyan Stella, Claas Steven A, Arnett Donna K
Department of Epidemiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Ala.
Department of Epidemiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Ala.
Transl Res. 2015 Jan;165(1):143-53. doi: 10.1016/j.trsl.2014.04.004. Epub 2014 Apr 8.
Epigenetic processes, defined as heritable changes in gene expression that occur without changes to the DNA sequence, have emerged as a promising area of cardiovascular disease research. Epigenetic information transcends that of the genotype alone and provides for an integrated etiologic picture of cardiovascular disease pathogenesis because of the interaction of the epigenome with the environment. Epigenetic biomarkers, which include DNA methylation, histone modifications, and RNA-based mechanisms, are both modifiable and cell-type specific, which makes them not only responsive to the environment, but also an attractive target for drug development. However, the enthusiasm surrounding possible applications of cardiovascular epigenetics currently outpaces available evidence. In this review, the authors synthesize the evidence linking epigenetic changes with cardiovascular disease, emphasizing the gap between the translational potential and the clinical reality of cardiovascular epigenetics.
表观遗传过程被定义为在不改变DNA序列的情况下发生的基因表达的可遗传变化，已成为心血管疾病研究中一个很有前景的领域。表观遗传信息超越了单纯的基因型信息，由于表观基因组与环境的相互作用，为心血管疾病发病机制提供了一个综合的病因学图景。表观遗传生物标志物，包括DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰和基于RNA的机制，既具有可修饰性又具有细胞类型特异性，这使得它们不仅对环境有反应，而且是药物开发的一个有吸引力的靶点。然而，目前围绕心血管表观遗传学可能应用的热情超过了现有证据。在这篇综述中，作者综合了将表观遗传变化与心血管疾病联系起来的证据，强调了心血管表观遗传学的转化潜力与临床现实之间的差距。
