Laboratory of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Fondazione IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, San Giovanni Rotondo, 71013 Foggia, Italy.
Complex Unit of Geriatrics, Department of Medical Sciences, Fondazione IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, San Giovanni Rotondo, 71013 Foggia, Italy.
Cells. 2023 Apr 14;12(8):1163. doi: 10.3390/cells12081163.
Aging is an inevitable outcome of life, characterized by a progressive decline in tissue and organ function. At a molecular level, it is marked by the gradual alterations of biomolecules. Indeed, important changes are observed on the DNA, as well as at a protein level, that are influenced by both genetic and environmental parameters. These molecular changes directly contribute to the development or progression of several human pathologies, including cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, neurodegenerative disorders and others aging-related diseases. Additionally, they increase the risk of mortality. Therefore, deciphering the hallmarks of aging represents a possibility for identifying potential druggable targets to attenuate the aging process, and then the age-related comorbidities. Given the link between aging, genetic, and epigenetic alterations, and given the reversible nature of epigenetic mechanisms, the precisely understanding of these factors may provide a potential therapeutic approach for age-related decline and disease. In this review, we center on epigenetic regulatory mechanisms and their aging-associated changes, highlighting their inferences in age-associated diseases.
衰老是生命不可避免的结果，其特征是组织和器官功能的逐渐衰退。在分子水平上，它以生物分子的逐渐改变为标志。事实上，在 DNA 以及蛋白质水平上都观察到了重要的变化，这些变化受到遗传和环境参数的影响。这些分子变化直接导致了几种人类疾病的发展或进展，包括癌症、糖尿病、骨质疏松症、神经退行性疾病和其他与衰老相关的疾病。此外，它们还增加了死亡的风险。因此，破译衰老的特征代表了一种识别潜在可治疗靶点的可能性，以减轻衰老过程，进而减轻与衰老相关的合并症。鉴于衰老、遗传和表观遗传改变之间的联系，以及表观遗传机制的可逆性，对这些因素的精确理解可能为与年龄相关的衰退和疾病提供一种潜在的治疗方法。在这篇综述中，我们关注表观遗传调控机制及其与衰老相关的变化，强调它们在与年龄相关的疾病中的推断。
