Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, 85-095 Bydgoszcz, Poland.
Department of Engineering and Chemical and Food Analytics, Faculty of Chemical Technology and Engineering, UTP University of Science and Technology, 85-326 Bydgoszcz, Poland.
Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Apr 20;22(8):4262. doi: 10.3390/ijms22084262.
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a very common and complex disease, as alcohol is the most widely used addictive drug in the world. This disorder has an enormous impact on public health and social and private life, and it generates a huge number of social costs. Alcohol use stimulates hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis responses and is the cause of many physical and social problems (especially liver disease and cancer), accidental injury, and risky sexual behavior. For years, researchers have been trying to identify the genetic basis of alcohol use disorder, the molecular mechanisms responsible for its development, and an effective form of therapy. Genetic and environmental factors are known to contribute to the development of AUD, and the expression of genes is a complicated process that depends on epigenetic modulations. Dietary nutrients, such as vitamins, may serve as one these modulators, as they have a direct impact on epigenomes. In this review, we connect gathered knowledge from three emerging fields-genetics, epigenetics, and nutrition-to form an amazing triangle relating to alcohol use disorder.
酒精使用障碍（AUD）是一种非常常见且复杂的疾病，因为酒精是世界上使用最广泛的成瘾药物。这种疾病对公共卫生以及社会和私人生活都有巨大影响，同时也产生了大量的社会成本。酒精的使用会刺激下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴反应，是许多身体和社会问题（尤其是肝脏疾病和癌症）、意外伤害和危险性行为的原因。多年来，研究人员一直在努力确定酒精使用障碍的遗传基础、导致其发展的分子机制以及有效的治疗形式。已知遗传和环境因素促成了 AUD 的发展，而基因的表达是一个复杂的过程，依赖于表观遗传修饰。膳食营养素，如维生素，可能是这些调节剂之一，因为它们直接影响表观基因组。在这篇综述中，我们将三个新兴领域——遗传学、表观遗传学和营养——的知识联系起来，形成了一个与酒精使用障碍相关的惊人三角形。
