Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Epigenetics, Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, 515041, Guangdong, People's Republic of China.
Clin Epigenetics. 2023 May 13;15(1):85. doi: 10.1186/s13148-023-01481-1.
Epigenetic memory is essential for life that governs the predefined functional features of cells. Recent evidence has indicated that the epigenetic modification provides a potential link to gene expression changes that may be involved in the development of various chronic diseases, and targeting the epigenome becomes a plausible method for treating diseases. Traditional herbal medicine has gradually entered the vision of researchers due to its low toxicity and its effectiveness in treating diseases. As a matter of fact, researchers found that the possessed epigenetic modification capacity of herbal medicine had the ability to combat the progression of the disease, such as various types of cancer, diabetes, inflammation, amnesia, liver fibrosis, asthma, and hypertension-induced renal injury. Studies on the epigenetic effects of herbal medicine will provide valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms of human diseases, which may lead to new therapeutic approaches and diagnoses. Thus, this review summarized the impact of herbal medicine and its bioactive components on disease epigenome as examples of how utilization of epigenetic plasticity could be useful as the basis for the future development of targeted therapies in chronic diseases.
表观遗传记忆对于生命至关重要，它控制着细胞的预设功能特征。最近的证据表明，表观遗传修饰提供了一个潜在的基因表达变化的联系，可能涉及各种慢性疾病的发展，而针对表观基因组成为一种治疗疾病的可行方法。由于传统草药的低毒性及其在治疗疾病方面的有效性，它逐渐引起了研究人员的关注。事实上，研究人员发现，草药具有的表观遗传修饰能力能够对抗疾病的进展，例如各种类型的癌症、糖尿病、炎症、失忆、肝纤维化、哮喘和高血压引起的肾损伤。对草药的表观遗传作用的研究将为人类疾病的分子机制提供有价值的见解，这可能为慢性疾病的靶向治疗的新治疗方法和诊断提供依据。因此，本综述总结了草药及其生物活性成分对疾病表观基因组的影响，举例说明了如何利用表观遗传可塑性作为未来慢性疾病靶向治疗发展的基础。
