Journal
JOURNAL OF AUTOIMMUNITY
Volume 41, Issue -, Pages 1-5Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS LTD- ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaut.2013.01.010
Keywords
Epigenetics; Autoimmune diseases; DNA methylation; Histone modifications; Small non-coding RNA
Categories
Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [81210308042, 81220108017, 30972745]
- National Basic Research Program of China (973 Plan) [2009CB825605]
- Science-Technology Commission of Hunan Province [2011FJ2007, 2011TP4019-7, 2012WK3046, 2012TT2015]
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Autoimmune diseases are characterized by aberrant immune responses against healthy cells and tissues, in which a given individual's genetic susceptibilities play a central role; however, the exact mechanisms underlying the development of these conditions remain for the most part unknown. In recent years, accumulating evidence has demonstrated that, in addition to genetics, other complementary mechanisms are involved in the pathogenesis of autoimmunity, in particular, epigenetics. Epigenetics is defined as stable and heritable patterns of gene expression that do not entail any alterations to the original DNA sequence. Epigenetic mechanisms primarily consist of DNA methylation, histone modifications and small non-coding RNA transcripts. Epigenetic marks can be affected by age and other environmental triggers, providing a plausible link between environmental factors and the onset and development of various human diseases. Because of their primary function in regulating timely gene expression, epigenetic mechanisms offer potential advantages in terms of interpreting the molecular basis of complicated diseases and providing new promising therapeutic avenues for their treatment. The present review focuses on recent progress made in elucidating the relationship between epigenetics and the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic sclerosis, primary Sjogren's syndrome, primary biliary cirrhosis, psoriasis and type 1 diabetes. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available