Roumeliotis Stefanos, Cavallaro Rosaria A, Kontogiorgos Ioannis, Neofytou Ioannis E, Maresz Katarzyna, Jeanne Jean-Francois, Miraglia Niccolò, Fuso Andrea
2nd Department of Nephrology, AHEPA University Hospital Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Department of Surgery, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Epigenomics. 2025 Jul;17(10):681-690. doi: 10.1080/17501911.2025.2518916. Epub 2025 Jun 12.
Vitamin K2 refers to a subfamily of vitamin K isoforms known as Menaquinones and, therefore, indicated as MK-n, the "n" indicating the number of isoprene units present in the side chain. Like the other members of the Vitamin K family, K2 is an enzymatic cofactor for the γ-glutamyl carboxylase (GGCX). This enzyme's substrates, which carboxylate glutamic acid residues, are known as Vitamin K-dependent proteins (VKDPs). Besides being involved in bone homeostasis, vitamin K exerts its primary function in the coagulation process. More recently, a function of Vitamin K also in brain homeostasis has been claimed. In addition to these so-called "canonical" effects, recent research highlights the possibility that Vitamin K, particularly Vitamin K2 May 2001have or induce epigenetic effects through the modulation of DNA methylation, histone modifications, and microRNAs expression. This evidence seems particularly relevant in brain diseases, where epigenetics is gaining a central role as a modulator of multiple diseases-associated molecular metabolisms. The present review examines the recent literature (PubMed) to collect evidence for the role of Vitamin K2 in neurodegenerative diseases with the goal of fostering interest in its epigenetic potential.
维生素K2是维生素K异构体的一个亚家族，被称为甲萘醌，因此表示为MK-n，“n”表示侧链中存在的异戊二烯单元的数量。与维生素K家族的其他成员一样，K2是γ-谷氨酰羧化酶（GGCX）的酶辅因子。该酶的底物是将谷氨酸残基羧化，被称为维生素K依赖蛋白（VKDPs）。除了参与骨骼稳态外，维生素K在凝血过程中发挥其主要功能。最近，也有人声称维生素K在脑稳态中也有作用。除了这些所谓的“经典”作用外，最近的研究强调了维生素K，特别是维生素K2可能通过调节DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰和微小RNA表达而具有或诱导表观遗传效应的可能性。这一证据在脑部疾病中似乎尤为相关，在这些疾病中，表观遗传学作为多种疾病相关分子代谢的调节因子正发挥着核心作用。本综述查阅了近期文献（PubMed），以收集维生素K2在神经退行性疾病中作用的证据，目的是激发人们对其表观遗传潜力的兴趣。
