Rasoulinejad Seyed Ahmad, Maroufi Faezeh
Department of Ophthalmology, Ayatollah Rouhani Hospital, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Allied Medicine, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran.
Curr Mol Med. 2021;21(8):607-619. doi: 10.2174/1566524020666201209103603.
Epigenetics has an important role in gene regulation and other cellular processes. DNA methylation, as one of the main mechanisms of epigenetics, is a type of post-replication modifications. Aberrant DNA methylation can alter gene expression patterns; so, it plays a considerable role in the pathogenesis of many diseases. DNA methylated alterations in the promoter of specific genes can be used for the diagnosis and proprietary targets acting as a "biomarker". Early diagnosis and prevention may be possible due to these biomarkers. According to recent studies, DNA methylation abnormalities have an important role in the retinogenesis and pathogenesis of retinal diseases. Retinal diseases are the main cause of blindness and severe vision loss in the world, which will continue to increase. Also, they inflict an enormous burden on society and health care systems. Therefore, it is important to focus on the better recognition and prevention of retinal diseases and finding new targets for the treatment. DNA methylation is lionized as attractive therapeutic targets due to its reversibility. Epigenetic therapy has a high potency in the treatment of retinal diseases. Here, we reviewed the DNA and histone methylation alterations in common retinal diseases, focusing on agerelated macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy, retinal detachment (RD), retinitis pigmentosa, retinal aging, and retinoblastoma. Then we surveyed some new approaches to epigenetic therapy in retinal disorders.
表观遗传学在基因调控和其他细胞过程中发挥着重要作用。DNA甲基化作为表观遗传学的主要机制之一，是一种复制后修饰。异常的DNA甲基化可改变基因表达模式，因此在许多疾病的发病机制中起重要作用。特定基因启动子中的DNA甲基化改变可用于诊断，并作为“生物标志物”的专利靶点。由于这些生物标志物，早期诊断和预防成为可能。根据最近的研究，DNA甲基化异常在视网膜生成和视网膜疾病的发病机制中起重要作用。视网膜疾病是全球失明和严重视力丧失的主要原因，且其发病率将持续上升。此外，它们给社会和医疗保健系统带来了巨大负担。因此，重点关注更好地识别和预防视网膜疾病以及寻找新的治疗靶点非常重要。由于DNA甲基化具有可逆性，它被视为有吸引力的治疗靶点。表观遗传疗法在治疗视网膜疾病方面具有很高的潜力。在此，我们综述了常见视网膜疾病中的DNA和组蛋白甲基化改变，重点关注年龄相关性黄斑变性（AMD）、糖尿病性视网膜病变、视网膜脱离（RD）、视网膜色素变性、视网膜衰老和视网膜母细胞瘤。然后我们探讨了视网膜疾病表观遗传治疗的一些新方法。
