Is Epigenetics an Important Link between Early Life Events and Adult Disease?
Is Epigenetics an Important Link between Early Life Events and Adult Disease?
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DOI：
10.1159/000178030
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发表时间：
2009-01-01
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Waterland, Robert A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Waterland, Robert A.
背景：表观遗传学机制为早期环境影响如何导致慢性病易感性的长期变化提供了一种潜在的解释。虽然表观遗传失调越来越多地与各种罕见的发育综合征和癌症有关，但表观遗传学在心血管疾病、2型糖尿病和肥胖症等复杂慢性疾病中的作用在很大程度上仍不明确。需要在动物模型上进行广泛的工作，才能开发出可以在人类身上进行实际测试的具体假设。动物模型：我们已经建立了一个小鼠模型，表明补充甲基供体可以防止肥胖的跨代放大，这表明DNA甲基化在体重调节的发育建立中发挥了作用。结论：将这些模型与最近开发的表观基因组学技术相结合，最终将使我们能够确定表观遗传学是否是早期生活事件和成人疾病之间的重要联系。版权所有(C)2009 S.Karger AG，巴塞尔
Background: Epigenetic mechanisms provide one potential explanation for how environmental influences in early life cause long-term changes in chronic disease susceptibility. Whereas epigenetic dysregulation is increasingly implicated in various rare developmental syndromes and cancer, the role of epigenetics in complex chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity, remains largely uncharacterized. Extensive work in animal models is required to develop specific hypotheses that can be practicably tested in humans. Animal Models: We have developed a mouse model showing that methyl donor supplementation prevents transgenerational amplification of obesity, suggesting a role for DNA methylation in the developmental establishment of body weight regulation. Conclusions: Coupling such models with recently developed epigenomic technologies should ultimately enable us to determine if epigenetics is an important link between early life events and adult disease. Copyright (C) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel