Mehta Vineet, Nagu Priyanka, Inbaraj Baskaran Stephen, Sharma Minaxi, Parashar Arun, Sridhar Kandi
Department of Pharmacology, Govt. College of Pharmacy, Rohru 171207, Himachal Pradesh, India.
Department of Pharmaceutics, Govt. College of Pharmacy, Rohru 171207, Himachal Pradesh, India.
Bioengineering (Basel). 2022 Dec 13;9(12):798. doi: 10.3390/bioengineering9120798.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of mortality, morbidity, and "sudden death" globally. Environmental and lifestyle factors play important roles in CVD susceptibility, but the link between environmental factors and genetics is not fully established. Epigenetic influence during CVDs is becoming more evident as its direct involvement has been reported. The discovery of epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation and histone modification, suggested that external factors could alter gene expression to modulate human health. These external factors also influence our gut microbiota (GM), which participates in multiple metabolic processes in our body. Evidence suggests a high association of GM with CVDs. Although the exact mechanism remains unclear, the influence of GM over the epigenetic mechanisms could be one potential pathway in CVD etiology. Both epigenetics and GM are dynamic processes and vary with age and environment. Changes in the composition of GM have been found to underlie the pathogenesis of metabolic diseases via modulating epigenetic changes in the form of DNA methylation, histone modifications, and regulation of non-coding RNAs. Several metabolites produced by the GM, including short-chain fatty acids, folates, biotin, and trimethylamine-N-oxide, have the potential to regulate epigenetics, apart from playing a vital role in normal physiological processes. The role of GM and epigenetics in CVDs are promising areas of research, and important insights in the field of early diagnosis and therapeutic approaches might appear soon.
心血管疾病（CVD）是全球范围内导致死亡、发病和“猝死”的主要原因。环境和生活方式因素在心血管疾病易感性中起着重要作用，但环境因素与基因之间的联系尚未完全确立。随着心血管疾病中表观遗传的直接参与被报道，其影响变得越来越明显。DNA甲基化和组蛋白修饰等表观遗传机制的发现表明，外部因素可以改变基因表达来调节人类健康。这些外部因素也会影响我们的肠道微生物群（GM），它参与我们身体的多种代谢过程。有证据表明肠道微生物群与心血管疾病高度相关。尽管确切机制尚不清楚，但肠道微生物群对表观遗传机制的影响可能是心血管疾病病因学中的一个潜在途径。表观遗传学和肠道微生物群都是动态过程，会随年龄和环境而变化。已发现肠道微生物群组成的变化通过以DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰和非编码RNA调控的形式调节表观遗传变化，成为代谢疾病发病机制的基础。肠道微生物群产生的几种代谢物，包括短链脂肪酸、叶酸、生物素和氧化三甲胺，除了在正常生理过程中发挥重要作用外，还具有调节表观遗传的潜力。肠道微生物群和表观遗传学在心血管疾病中的作用是很有前景的研究领域，该领域在早期诊断和治疗方法方面的重要见解可能很快就会出现。
