Jin Zelin, Liu Yun
The Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Genes Dis. 2018 Jan 31;5(1):1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.gendis.2018.01.002. eCollection 2018 Mar.
Even though the importance of epigenetics was first recognized in light of its role in tissue development, an increasing amount of evidence has shown that it also plays an important role in the development and progression of many common diseases. We discuss some recent findings on one representative epigenetic modification, DNA methylation, in some common diseases. While many new risk factors have been identified through the population-based epigenetic epidemiologic studies on the role of epigenetics in common diseases, this relatively new field still faces many unique challenges. Here, we describe those promises and unique challenges of epigenetic epidemiological studies and propose some potential solutions.
尽管表观遗传学的重要性最初是鉴于其在组织发育中的作用而被认识到的，但越来越多的证据表明，它在许多常见疾病的发生和发展中也起着重要作用。我们讨论了一些关于一种代表性表观遗传修饰——DNA甲基化在一些常见疾病中的最新发现。虽然通过基于人群的表观遗传流行病学研究已经确定了许多新的风险因素，这些研究探讨了表观遗传学在常见疾病中的作用，但这个相对较新的领域仍然面临许多独特的挑战。在这里，我们描述了表观遗传流行病学研究的这些前景和独特挑战，并提出了一些潜在的解决方案。
