Spanou Victoria M, Andriopoulou Theano P, Giamarellos-Bourboulis Evangelos J, Netea Mihai G
4th Department of Internal Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Medical School, Athens, Greece.
Department of Internal Medicine and Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, 6500HB, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
EMBO Mol Med. 2025 Apr;17(4):609-624. doi: 10.1038/s44321-025-00192-9. Epub 2025 Jan 22.
Recent studies argue for a novel concept of the role of chromatin as a carrier of epigenetic memory through cellular and organismal generations, defining and coordinating gene activity states and physiological functions. Environmental insults, such as exposures to unhealthy diets, smoking, toxic compounds, and infections, can epigenetically reprogram germ-line cells and influence offspring phenotypes. This review focuses on intergenerational and transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in different plants, animal species and humans, presenting the up-to-date evidence and arguments for such effects in light of Darwinian and Lamarckian evolutionary theories. An overview of the epigenetic changes induced by infection or other immune challenges is presented, and how these changes, known as epimutations, contribute to shaping offspring phenotypes. The mechanisms that mediate the transmission of epigenetic alterations via the germline are also discussed. Understanding the relationship between environmental fluctuations, epigenetic changes, resistance, and susceptibility to diseases is critical for unraveling disease etiology and adaptive evolution.
最近的研究支持了一种关于染色质作用的新观念，即染色质作为表观遗传记忆的载体，可跨越细胞和生物世代，定义并协调基因活性状态和生理功能。环境损伤，如接触不健康饮食、吸烟、有毒化合物和感染，可通过表观遗传方式对生殖系细胞进行重编程，并影响后代的表型。本综述聚焦于不同植物、动物物种及人类中的代际和跨代表观遗传遗传，根据达尔文和拉马克进化理论，呈现了有关此类效应的最新证据和观点。本文概述了由感染或其他免疫挑战诱导的表观遗传变化，以及这些被称为表观突变的变化如何有助于塑造后代表型。还讨论了经由生殖系介导表观遗传改变传递的机制。理解环境波动、表观遗传变化、抗性和疾病易感性之间的关系，对于阐明疾病病因和适应性进化至关重要。
