School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, LeedsLS2 9JT, UK.
Br J Nutr. 2024 Mar 28;131(6):935-943. doi: 10.1017/S0007114523002532. Epub 2023 Nov 13.
Phytosterols/phytostanols are bioactive compounds found in vegetable oils, nuts and seeds and added to a range of commercial food products. Consumption of phytosterols/phytostanols reduces levels of circulating LDL-cholesterol, a causative biomarker of CVD, and is linked to a reduced risk of some cancers. Individuals who consume phytosterols/phytostanols in their diet may do so for many years as part of a non-pharmacological route to lower cholesterol or as part of a healthy diet. However, the impact of long term or high intakes of dietary phytosterols/phytostanols has not been on whole-body epigenetic changes before. The aim of this systematic review was to identify all publications that have evaluated changes to epigenetic mechanisms (post-translation modification of histones, DNA methylation and miRNA expression) in response to phytosterols/phytostanols. A systematic search was performed that returned 226 records, of which eleven were eligible for full-text analysis. Multiple phytosterols were found to inhibit expression of histone deacetylase (HDAC) enzymes and were also predicted to directly bind and impair HDAC activity. Phytosterols were found to inhibit the expression and activity of DNA methyl transferase enzyme 1 and reverse cancer-associated gene silencing. Finally, phytosterols have been shown to regulate over 200 miRNA, although only five of these were reported in multiple publications. Five tissue types (breast, prostate, macrophage, aortic epithelia and lung) were represented across the studies, and although phytosterols/phytostanols alter the molecular mechanisms of epigenetic inheritance in these mammalian cells, studies exploring meiotic or transgenerational inheritance were not found.
植物甾醇/植物固醇是存在于植物油、坚果和种子中的生物活性化合物，并被添加到一系列商业食品产品中。食用植物甾醇/植物固醇可以降低循环 LDL-胆固醇（心血管疾病的致病生物标志物）的水平，与降低某些癌症的风险有关。作为降低胆固醇的非药物途径的一部分，或作为健康饮食的一部分，可能会有一些人在饮食中长期或大量摄入植物甾醇/植物固醇。然而，长期或大量摄入膳食植物甾醇/植物固醇对全身表观遗传变化的影响尚未得到研究。本系统综述的目的是确定所有评估植物甾醇/植物固醇对表观遗传机制（组蛋白的翻译后修饰、DNA 甲基化和 miRNA 表达）变化的出版物。进行了系统搜索，共返回了 226 条记录，其中 11 条符合全文分析的条件。多种植物甾醇被发现可抑制组蛋白去乙酰化酶（HDAC）酶的表达，并且还被预测可直接结合并损害 HDAC 活性。植物甾醇被发现可抑制 DNA 甲基转移酶 1 的表达和活性，并逆转与癌症相关的基因沉默。最后，已表明植物甾醇可调节超过 200 种 miRNA，尽管其中只有 5 种在多个出版物中有报道。这些研究涵盖了五种组织类型（乳腺、前列腺、巨噬细胞、主动脉上皮和肺），尽管植物甾醇/植物固醇改变了这些哺乳动物细胞中表观遗传遗传的分子机制，但未发现探索减数分裂或跨代遗传的研究。
