1 3802 159 INTERSTITIAL LUNG DISEASE IN CONNECTIVE TISSUE DISEASE: A COMMON LESION WITH HETEROGENEOUS MECHANISMS AND TREATMENT CONSIDERATIONS. CONNECTIVE TISSUE DISEASE (CTD) RELATED INTERSTITIAL LUNG DISEASE (CTD-ILD) IS ONE OF THE LEADING CAUSES OF MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY OF CTD. CLINICALLY, CTD-ILD IS HIGHLY HETEROGENOUS AND INVOLVES RHEUMATIC IMMUNITY AND MULTIPLE MANIFESTATIONS OF RESPIRATORY COMPLICATIONS AFFECTING THE AIRWAYS, VESSELS, LUNG PARENCHYMA, PLEURA, AND RESPIRATORY MUSCLES. THE MAJOR PATHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF CTD ARE CHRONIC INFLAMMATION OF BLOOD VESSELS AND CONNECTIVE TISSUES, WHICH CAN AFFECT ANY ORGAN LEADING TO MULTI-SYSTEM DAMAGE. THE HUMAN LUNG IS PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TO SUCH DAMAGE BECAUSE ANATOMICALLY IT IS ABUNDANT WITH COLLAGEN AND BLOOD VESSELS. THE COMPLEX ETIOLOGY OF CTD-ILD INCLUDES GENETIC RISKS, EPIGENETIC CHANGES, AND DYSREGULATED IMMUNITY, WHICH INTERACT LEADING TO DISEASE UNDER VARIOUS ILL-DEFINED ENVIRONMENTAL TRIGGERS. CTD-ILD EXHIBITS A BROAD SPECTRA OF CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS: FROM ASYMPTOMATIC TO SEVERE DYSPNEA; FROM SINGLE-ORGAN RESPIRATORY SYSTEM INVOLVEMENT TO MULTI-ORGAN INVOLVEMENT. THE DISEASE COURSE IS ALSO FEATURED BY REMISSIONS AND RELAPSES. IT CAN RANGE FROM STABILITY OR SLOW PROGRESSION OVER SEVERAL YEARS TO RAPID DETERIORATION. IT CAN ALSO PRESENT CLINICALLY AS HIGHLY PROGRESSIVE FROM THE INITIAL ONSET OF DISEASE. CURRENTLY, THE DIAGNOSIS OF CTD-ILD IS PRIMARILY BASED ON DISTINCT PATHOLOGY SUBTYPE(S), IMAGING, AS WELL AS RELATED CTD AND AUTOANTIBODIES PROFILES. METICULOUS COMPREHENSIVE CLINICAL AND LABORATORY ASSESSMENT TO IMPROVE THE DIAGNOSTIC PROCESS AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES ARE MUCH NEEDED. IN THIS REVIEW, WE FOCUS ON EXAMINING THE PATHOGENESIS OF CTD-ILD WITH RESPECT TO GENETICS, ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, AND IMMUNOLOGICAL FACTORS. WE ALSO DISCUSS THE CURRENT STATE OF KNOWLEDGE AND ELABORATE ON THE CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CTD-ILD, DISTINCT PATHOHISTOLOGICAL SUBTYPES, IMAGING FEATURES, AND RELATED AUTOANTIBODIES. FURTHERMORE, WE COMMENT ON THE IDENTIFICATION OF HIGH-RISK PATIENTS AND ADDRESS HOW TO STRATIFY PATIENTS FOR PRECISION MEDICINE MANAGEMENT APPROACHES. 2021 2 4399 32 MODULATION OF GENOMIC AND POSTGENOMIC ALTERATIONS IN NONCANCER DISEASES AND CRITICAL PERIODS OF LIFE. GENOMIC AND POSTGENOMIC CHANGES ARE EXTENSIVELY INVESTIGATED IN CANCER RESEARCH. SIMILAR ALTERATIONS, AFFECTING GENOME, TRANSCRIPTOME, MIRNOME AND/OR PROTEOME END-POINTS, HAVE BEEN DETECTED IN A VARIETY OF OTHER CHRONIC DEGENERATIVE DISEASES, SUCH AS ATHEROSCLEROSIS, DEGENERATIVE HEART DISEASES, CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASES, NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS, EYE DISEASES, DIABETES, METABOLIC SYNDROME, SKIN AGEING AND ALOPECIA. NO GENERALIZATION CAN BE MADE DUE TO THE MYRIAD OF DIVERSE CLINICAL ENTITIES CLASSIFIED AS CHRONIC DEGENERATIVE DISEASES. MOREOVER, THE DETECTION OF MOLECULAR CHANGES DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY IMPLY THEIR CAUSAL ROLE. NEVERTHELESS, COMMON MECHANISMS, SUCH AS DNA DAMAGE, EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS, OXIDATIVE STRESS, AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, IN ADDITION TO GENETIC PREDISPOSITION, ARE OFTEN INVOLVED IN NONCANCER DISEASES. WE DEBATE HERE IN MORE DETAIL THE SUBJECTS OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES AND OF SKIN DISEASES. MOREOVER, WE DISCUSS OUR EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES SUGGESTING THAT GENOMIC AND POSTGENOMIC CHANGES DO ALSO OCCUR DURING CRITICAL PERIODS OF LIFE, INCLUDING THE PRENATAL LIFE, THE PERINATAL PERIOD, AND AGEING. IN ADDITION, WE COMMENT ON THE FINDING THAT STEM-DERIVED CELLS ARE MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO MOLECULAR DAMAGE THAN MORE DIFFERENTIATED CELLS. ALL THESE DATA ARE VIEWED IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE. IN FACT, THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT THE GENOMIC AND POSTGENOMIC ALTERATIONS OCCURRING NOT ONLY IN SEVERAL PATHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS BUT ALSO IN PARAPHYSIOLOGICAL SITUATIONS THAT AFFECT CRITICAL PERIODS OF LIFE CAN BE MODULATED BY MEANS OF DIETARY AND PHARMACOLOGICAL AGENTS. THE DISCOVERY THAT CHEMOPREVENTIVE AGENTS ARE ALSO ABLE TO ATTENUATE NUCLEOTIDE DAMAGE IN STEM-DERIVED CELLS WARRANTS FURTHER STUDIES IN VIEW OF POSSIBLE CLINICAL APPLICATIONS. 2009 3 705 34 BUILDING RISK-ON-A-CHIP MODELS TO IMPROVE BREAST CANCER RISK ASSESSMENT AND PREVENTION. PREVENTIVE ACTIONS FOR CHRONIC DISEASES HOLD THE PROMISE OF IMPROVING LIVES AND REDUCING HEALTHCARE COSTS. FOR SEVERAL DISEASES, INCLUDING BREAST CANCER, MULTIPLE RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED BY EPIDEMIOLOGISTS. THE IMPACT OF MOST OF THESE FACTORS HAS YET TO BE FULLY UNDERSTOOD AT THE ORGANISM, TISSUE, CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR LEVELS. IMPORTANTLY, COMBINATIONS OF EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS INVOLVE COOPERATIVITY THUS, SYNERGIZING OR ANTAGONIZING DISEASE ONSET. MODELS ARE NEEDED TO MECHANISTICALLY DECIPHER CANCER RISKS UNDER DEFINED CELLULAR AND MICROENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS. HERE, WE BRIEFLY REVIEW BREAST CANCER RISK MODELS BASED ON 3D CELL CULTURE AND PROPOSE TO IMPROVE RISK MODELING WITH LAB-ON-A-CHIP APPROACHES. WE SUGGEST EPITHELIAL TISSUE POLARITY, DNA REPAIR AND EPIGENETIC PROFILES AS ENDPOINTS IN RISK ASSESSMENT MODELS AND DISCUSS THE DEVELOPMENT OF 'RISKS-ON-CHIPS' INTEGRATING BIOSENSORS OF THESE ENDPOINTS AND OF GENERAL TISSUE HOMEOSTASIS. RISKS-ON-CHIPS WILL HELP IDENTIFY BIOMARKERS OF RISK, SERVE AS SCREENING PLATFORMS FOR CANCER PREVENTIVE AGENTS, AND PROVIDE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF RISK MECHANISMS, HENCE RESULTING IN NOVEL DEVELOPMENTS IN DISEASE PREVENTION. 2013 4 2533 45 EPIGENETICS IN AUTOIMMUNE CONNECTIVE TISSUE DISEASES. BACKGROUND. AUTOIMMUNE CONNECTIVE TISSUE DISEASES (ACTDS) ENCOMPASS A HETEROGENEOUS GROUP OF CHRONIC IMMUNE-MEDIATED INFLAMMATORY DISORDERS, PRIMARILY AFFECTING CONNECTIVE TISSUES AND CLINICALLY CHARACTERIZED BY VARIABLE MULTISYSTEM MANIFESTATIONS, FREQUENTLY OVERLAPPING. ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ARE THOUGHT TO PROMOTE ACTD DEVELOPMENT IN GENETIC PREDISPOSING/ENDOCRINE PERMISSIVE BACKGROUND THROUGH THE INDUCTION OF EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, CONSISTING OF STABLE, HERITABLE, BUT POTENTIALLY REVERSIBLE CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION, OCCURRING WITHOUT ALTERATIONS OF THE DNA SEQUENCE. ACTUALLY, EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS (SUCH AS HISTONE MODIFICATIONS, DNA METHYLATION, NUCLEOSOME POSITIONING, AND RNA INTERFERENCE) LINK GENOTYPE UPSTREAM AND PHENOTYPE DOWNSTREAM, AND, IF PERSISTENTLY ABERRANT, MAY CAUSE A VARIETY OF HUMAN DISEASES, INCLUDING ACTDS. WE AIMED TO REVIEW THE RECENT ADVANCES IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE ACTD EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS. METHODS: A DETAILED SEARCH OF THE AVAILABLE LITERATURE WAS PERFORMED IN THE PUBMED (U.S. NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE) DATABASE. RESULTS: GROWING EVIDENCE UNDERLINES THE RELEVANT ROLE OF EPIGENETIC DEFECTS IN THE ACTD PATHOGENESIS, AND SPECIFIC EPIGENETIC PATTERNS CAN REPRESENT DISEASE BIOMARKERS. IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA), EPIGENETIC VARIATIONS INTERACT DETERMINING THE TYPICAL "AGGRESSIVE" PHENOTYPE DISPLAYED BY RA SYNOVIAL FIBROBLASTS. EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS ARE INVOLVED IN THE PROFIBROTIC PROCESS THAT CHARACTERIZES SYSTEMIC SCLEROSIS. IN SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS AND SJOGREN'S SYNDROME, COMPLEX EPIGENETIC CHANGES ALTERING GENE EXPRESSION HAVE BEEN DEMONSTRATED. CONCLUSIONS: COMPREHENSIVE STUDIES WILL CONTRIBUTE TO FURTHER DEFINE THE ABERRANT EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN THE ACTDS ETIOPATHOGENESIS. MOREOVER, BEING EPIGENETIC CHANGES POTENTIALLY REVERSIBLE, THE IDENTIFICATION OF ACTDS EPIGENETIC BIOMARKERS WILL ALLOW THE DEVELOPMENT OF THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES ADDRESSED TO TARGET DYSREGULATED GENES AND CORRECT ABERRANT EPIGENOMIC ALTERATIONS. 2014 5 49 41 A CURRENT GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC VIEW ON HUMAN AGING MECHANISMS. THE PROCESS OF AGING IS ONE OF THE MOST COMPLEX AND INTRIGUING BIOLOGICAL PHENOMENONS. AGING IS A GENETICALLY REGULATED PROCESS IN WHICH THE ORGANISM'S MAXIMUM LIFESPAN POTENTIAL IS PRE-DETERMINED, WHILE THE RATE OF AGING IS INFLUENCED BY ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND LIFESTYLE. CONSIDERING THE COMPLEXITY OF MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN THE REGULATION OF AGING PROCESS, UP TO THIS DATE THERE ISN'T A MAJOR, UNIFYING THEORY WHICH COULD EXPLAIN THEM. AS GENETIC/EPIGENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS BOTH INEVITABLY INFLUENCE THE AGING PROCESS, HERE WE PRESENT A REVIEW ON THE GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS OF AGING. BASED ON THE STUDIES ON OXIDATIVE STRESS, METABOLISM, GENOME STABILITY, EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS AND CELLULAR SENESCENCE IN ANIMAL MODELS AND HUMANS, WE GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF KEY GENETIC AND MOLECULAR PATHWAYS RELATED TO AGING. AS MOST OF GENETIC MANIPULATIONS WHICH INFLUENCE THE AGING PROCESS ALSO AFFECT REPRODUCTION, WE DISCUSS AGING IN HUMANS AS A POST-REPRODUCTIVE GENETICALLY DETERMINED PROCESS. AFTER THE AGE OF REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS, AGING CONTINOUSLY PROGRESSES WHICH CLINICALLY COINCIDES WITH THE ONSET OF MOST CHRONIC DISEASES, CANCERS AND DEMENTIONS. AS EVOLUTION SHAPES THE GENOMES FOR REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS AND NOT FOR POST-REPRODUCTIVE SURVIVAL, AGING COULD BE DEFINED AS A PROTECTIVE MECHANISM WHICH ENSURES THE PRESERVATION AND PROGRESS OF SPECIES THROUGH THE MODIFICATION, TRASMISSION AND IMPROVEMENT OF GENETIC MATERIAL. 2009 6 4198 34 METABOLIC PROFILING DISTINGUISHES THREE SUBTYPES OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. THE CAUSE OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE IS INCOMPLETELY DEFINED, AND NO TRULY EFFECTIVE THERAPY EXISTS. HOWEVER, MULTIPLE STUDIES HAVE IMPLICATED METABOLIC ABNORMALITIES SUCH AS INSULIN RESISTANCE, HORMONAL DEFICIENCIES, AND HYPERHOMOCYSTEINEMIA. OPTIMIZING METABOLIC PARAMETERS IN A COMPREHENSIVE WAY HAS YIELDED COGNITIVE IMPROVEMENT, BOTH IN SYMPTOMATIC AND ASYMPTOMATIC INDIVIDUALS. THEREFORE, EXPANDING THE STANDARD LABORATORY EVALUATION IN PATIENTS WITH DEMENTIA MAY BE REVEALING. HERE I REPORT THAT METABOLIC PROFILING REVEALS THREE ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE SUBTYPES. THE FIRST IS INFLAMMATORY, IN WHICH MARKERS SUCH AS HS-CRP AND GLOBULIN:ALBUMIN RATIO ARE INCREASED. THE SECOND TYPE IS NON-INFLAMMATORY, IN WHICH THESE MARKERS ARE NOT INCREASED, BUT OTHER METABOLIC ABNORMALITIES ARE PRESENT. THE THIRD TYPE IS A VERY DISTINCTIVE CLINICAL ENTITY THAT AFFECTS RELATIVELY YOUNG INDIVIDUALS, EXTENDS BEYOND THE TYPICAL ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE INITIAL DISTRIBUTION TO AFFECT THE CORTEX WIDELY, IS CHARACTERIZED BY EARLY NON-AMNESTIC FEATURES SUCH AS DYSCALCULIA AND APHASIA, IS OFTEN MISDIAGNOSED OR LABELED ATYPICAL ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, TYPICALLY AFFECTS APOE4-NEGATIVE INDIVIDUALS, AND IS ASSOCIATED WITH STRIKING ZINC DEFICIENCY. GIVEN THE INVOLVEMENT OF ZINC IN MULTIPLE ALZHEIMER'S-RELATED METABOLIC PROCESSES, SUCH AS INSULIN RESISTANCE, CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, ADAM10 PROTEOLYTIC ACTIVITY, AND HORMONAL SIGNALING, THIS SYNDROME OF ALZHEIMER'S-PLUS WITH LOW ZINC (APLZ) WARRANTS FURTHER METABOLIC, GENETIC, AND EPIGENETIC CHARACTERIZATION. 2015 7 4012 31 LOW-DENSITY GRANULOCYTES IN SYSTEMIC AUTOIMMUNITY AND AUTOINFLAMMATION. A BODY OF EVIDENCE HAS RE-ENERGIZED THE INTEREST ON THE ROLE NEUTROPHILS IN INFLAMMATORY AND AUTOIMMUNE CONDITIONS. FOR DECADES, NEUTROPHILS HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED A HOMOGENOUS POPULATION. NEVERTHELESS, ACCUMULATING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT NEUTROPHILS ARE MORE VERSATILE AND HETEROGENEOUS THAN INITIALLY CONSIDERED. THE NOTION OF NEUTROPHIL HETEROGENEITY HAS BEEN SUPPORTED BY THE IDENTIFICATION OF LOW-DENSITY GRANULOCYTES (LDGS) IN SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS (SLE) AND OTHER SYSTEMIC AUTOIMMUNE AND AUTOINFLAMMATORY CONDITIONS. TRANSCRIPTOMIC, EPIGENETIC, PROTEOMIC, AND FUNCTIONAL ANALYSES SUPPORT THAT LDGS ARE A DISTINCT SUBSET OF PROINFLAMMATORY NEUTROPHILS IMPLICATED IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF SLE AND OTHER AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES. IMPORTANTLY, IT REMAINS INCOMPLETELY CHARACTERIZED WHETHER LDGS DETECTED IN OTHER INFLAMMATORY/AUTOIMMUNE CONDITIONS DISPLAY THE SAME PHENOTYPE THAT THOSE PRESENT IN SLE. A SHARED FEATURE OF LDGS ACROSS DISEASES IS THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH VASCULAR DAMAGE, AN IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTOR TO MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY IN CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY CONDITIONS. ADDITIONALLY, THE LACK OF SPECIFIC MARKERS TO IDENTIFY LDGS IN CIRCULATION OR IN TISSUE, MAKES IT A CHALLENGE TO ELUCIDATE THEIR ROLE IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF INFLAMMATORY AND AUTOIMMUNE CONDITIONS. IN THIS REVIEW, WE AIM TO EXAMINE THE EVIDENCE ON THE BIOLOGY AND THE PUTATIVE PATHOGENIC ROLE OF LDGS IN SYSTEMIC AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES. 2023 8 289 30 AGING AND INTERSTITIAL LUNG DISEASES: UNRAVELING AN OLD FORGOTTEN PLAYER IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF LUNG FIBROSIS. AGING IS A NATURAL PROCESS CHARACTERIZED BY A PROGRESSIVE FUNCTIONAL IMPAIRMENT AND REDUCED CAPACITY TO RESPOND ADAPTIVELY TO ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULI. AGING IS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED SUSCEPTIBILITY TO A VARIETY OF CHRONIC DISEASES, INCLUDING TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS, CANCER, AND NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES. LUNG PATHOLOGIES ARE NOT THE EXCEPTION, AND THE PREVALENCE OF SEVERAL INTERSTITIAL LUNG DISEASES (ILDS), PRIMARILY IDIOPATHIC PULMONARY FIBROSIS, HAS BEEN FOUND TO INCREASE CONSIDERABLY WITH AGE. ALTHOUGH OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE BIOLOGY OF AGING HAS ADVANCED REMARKABLY IN THE LAST 2 DECADES, THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS LINKING AGING TO ILD REMAIN UNCLEAR. IMMUNOSENESCENCE, OXIDATIVE STRESS, ABNORMAL SHORTENING OF TELOMERES, APOPTOSIS, AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES AFFECTING GENE EXPRESSION HAVE BEEN PROPOSED TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE AGING PROCESS, AND AGING-ASSOCIATED DISEASES. HERE, WE REVIEW THE EMERGING CONCEPTS HIGHLIGHTING THE PUTATIVE AGING-ASSOCIATED ABNORMALITIES INVOLVED IN SOME HUMAN ILDS. 2010 9 6334 30 THE ROLE OF DNA METHYLATION AND HYDROXYMETHYLATION IN IMMUNOSENESCENCE. A HEALTHY FUNCTIONING IMMUNE SYSTEM IS CRITICAL TO STAVE OFF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, BUT AS HUMANS AND OTHER ORGANISMS AGE, THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEMS DECLINE. AS A RESULT, DISEASES THAT WERE READILY THWARTED IN EARLY LIFE POSE NONTRIVIAL HARM AND CAN EVEN BE DEADLY IN LATE LIFE. IMMUNOSENESCENCE IS DEFINED AS THE GENERAL DETERIORATION OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM WITH AGE, AND IT IS CHARACTERIZED BY FUNCTIONAL CHANGES IN HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELLS (HSCS) AND SPECIFIC BLOOD CELL TYPES AS WELL AS CHANGES IN LEVELS OF NUMEROUS FACTORS, PARTICULARLY THOSE INVOLVED IN INFLAMMATION. POTENTIAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING IMMUNOSENESCENCE INCLUDE EPIGENETIC CHANGES SUCH AS CHANGES IN DNA METHYLATION (DNAM) AND DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION (DNAHM) THAT OCCUR WITH AGE. THE PURPOSE OF THIS REVIEW IS TO DESCRIBE WHAT IS CURRENTLY KNOWN ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IMMUNOSENESCENCE AND THE AGE-RELATED CHANGES TO DNAM AND DNAHM, AND TO DISCUSS EXPERIMENTAL APPROACHES BEST SUITED TO FILL GAPS IN OUR UNDERSTANDING. 2019 10 6141 34 THE ETIOLOGY OF PEYRONIE'S DISEASE: PATHOGENESIS AND GENETIC CONTRIBUTIONS. INTRODUCTION: PEYRONIE'S DISEASE (PD) IS A CHRONIC FIBROSING CONDITION THAT CONTRIBUTES TO PENILE DEFORMITY, CURVATURE, AND PAIN. INITIAL FAMILIAL STUDIES DEMONSTRATED POTENTIAL GENETIC LINKS TO PD. SINCE THAT TIME, VERY FEW INVESTIGATIONS HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY ADVANCED THE SCIENCE IN THIS AREA. HENCE, THERE IS A LARGE OPPORTUNITY AND SIGNIFICANT NEED TO BETTER STUDY THE UNDERLYING GENOMICS AND PATHOGENESIS OF PD. AIM: TO SUMMARIZE THE CURRENT GENOMIC LITERATURE RELEVANT TO PD. METHODS: A REVIEW WAS PERFORMED OF ALL PUBMED-INDEXED LITERATURE FROM 1970-2018 RELATING TO THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY AND GENETICS OF PD. KEY FINDINGS WERE CATEGORICALLY SUMMARIZED TO INCLUDE EPIDEMIOLOGY, RISK FACTORS, INHERITANCE PATTERNS, CHROMOSOMAL INSTABILITY, GENETIC ASSOCIATIONS, EPIGENETICS, DIFFERENTIAL GENE EXPRESSION, AND PRECLINICAL MODELS OF PD. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: SUMMARY OF THE CURRENT LITERATURE ON THE GENETICS OF PD. RESULTS: PD IS A COMMON CONDITION AND HAS SEVERAL KNOWN RISK FACTORS AND COMORBID DISEASE ASSOCIATIONS. ALTHOUGH MEN WITH PD ARE BELIEVED TO BE GENETICALLY PREDISPOSED, THERE ARE LIKELY SEVERAL SUBTYPES OF THE CONDITION, EACH WITH VARIED PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL DISORDERS AND CONTRIBUTING FACTORS. AVAILABLE DATA SUGGEST THAT PD IS ASSOCIATED WITH UNDERLYING GENETIC INSTABILITY, INCLUDING DYSREGULATION OF GENES RELATING TO FIBROSIS AND CELLULAR DEGRADATION, THUS, RESULTING IN ABNORMAL PLAQUE DEVELOPMENT AND PENILE DEFORMITY. PRECLINICAL MODELS, INCLUDING CELL CULTURES AND RAT MODELS, DEMONSTRATE SEVERAL CONSISTENCIES WITH PD CLINICAL AND HISTOPATHOLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS; HOWEVER, AN IDEAL MODEL WITH SPONTANEOUS DEVELOPMENT OF PD IS LACKING. CONCLUSION: BASED ON LIMITED DATA, PD LIKELY REPRESENTS A HETEROGENEOUS CONDITION, WITH BOTH HERITABLE AND ENVIRONMENTALLY-DRIVEN EPIGENETIC FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO ITS DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESSION. HOWEVER, THERE REMAINS A SIGNIFICANT GAP IN THE LITERATURE ON THE UNDERLYING CAUSE AND PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF THE CONDITION, SUGGESTING A SUBSTANTIAL NEED FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION AND STUDY. SHARMA KL, ALOM M, TROST L. THE ETIOLOGY OF PEYRONIE'S DISEASE: PATHOGENESIS AND GENETIC CONTRIBUTIONS. SEX MED REV 2020;8:314-323. 2020 11 395 39 AN UPDATE ON EPIGENETIC REGULATION IN AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES. AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES (AIDS) GENERALLY MANIFEST AS CHRONIC IMMUNE DISORDERS CHARACTERIZED BY SIGNIFICANT HETEROGENEITY AND COMPLEX SYMPTOMS. THE DISCORDANT INCIDENCE OF AIDS BETWEEN MONOZYGOTIC TWINS GUIDED PEOPLE TO ATTACH IMPORTANCE TO ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS. EPIGENETICS IS ONE OF THE MAJOR WAYS TO BE INFLUENCED, SOME OF THEM CAN EVEN OCCUR YEARS BEFORE CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS. WITH THE ADVENT OF HIGH-THROUGHPUT OMICS TIMES, THE MYSTERIOUS VEIL OF EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION IN AIDS HAS BEEN GRADUALLY UNRAVELED, AND SOME PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE IN UTILIZING IT AS INDICATORS OF DIAGNOSIS AND DISEASE ACTIVITY. FOR EXAMPLE, THE HYPOMETHYLATED IFI44L PROMOTER IN DIAGNOSING SYSTEMATIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS (SLE). MORE RECENTLY, NEWLY IDENTIFIED NONCODING RNAS (NCRNAS), INCLUDING LONG NONCODING RNAS (LNCRNAS) AND CIRCULAR RNAS (CIRCRNAS), ARE ALSO BELIEVED TO BE INVOLVED IN THE ETIOLOGY OF AIDS WHILE THE INITIAL FACTOR BEHIND THOSE EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS CAN BE DIVERSE FROM METABOLISM TO MICROBIOTA. UPDATE AND COMPREHENSIVE INSIGHTS INTO EPIGENETICS IN AIDS CAN HELP US UNDERSTAND THE PATHOGENESIS AND FURTHER ORCHESTRATE IT TO BENEFIT PATIENTS IN THE FUTURE. THEREFORE, WE REVIEWED THE LATEST EPIGENETIC FINDINGS IN SLE, RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA), TYPE 1 DIABETES (T1D), SYSTEMIC SCLEROSIS (SSC) PRIMARILY FROM CELLULAR LEVELS. 2022 12 6628 36 UNDERSTANDING THE GENETICS OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE, ALPHA1-ANTITRYPSIN DEFICIENCY, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE. CIGARETTE SMOKING AND POOR AIR QUALITY ARE THE GREATEST RISK FACTORS FOR DEVELOPING CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD), BUT GROWING EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT GENETIC FACTORS ALSO AFFECT PREDISPOSITION TO AND CLINICAL EXPRESSION OF DISEASE. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ALPHA1-ANTITRYPSIN DEFICIENCY (AATD), A RARE AUTOSOMAL RECESSIVE DISORDER THAT IS PRESENT IN 1-3% OF INDIVIDUALS WITH COPD, NO SINGLE GENE IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF OBSTRUCTIVE LUNG DISEASE. INSTEAD, A COMPLEX INTERPLAY OF GENETIC, EPIGENETIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IS THE BASIS FOR PERSISTENT INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES, ACCELERATED CELL AGING, CELL DEATH, AND FIBROSIS, LEADING TO THE CLINICAL SYMPTOMS OF COPD AND DIFFERENT PHENOTYPIC PRESENTATIONS. IN THIS BRIEF REVIEW, WE DISCUSS CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF THE GENETICS OF COPD, PATHOGENETICS OF AATD, EPIGENETIC INFLUENCES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF OBSTRUCTIVE LUNG DISEASE, AND HOW CLASSIFYING COPD BY PHENOTYPE CAN INFLUENCE CLINICAL TREATMENT AND PATIENT OUTCOMES. 2021 13 5359 32 REBOOTING REGULATORY T CELL AND DENDRITIC CELL FUNCTION IN IMMUNE-MEDIATED INFLAMMATORY DISEASES: BIOMARKER AND THERAPY DISCOVERY UNDER A MULTI-OMICS LENS. IMMUNE-MEDIATED INFLAMMATORY DISEASES (IMIDS) ARE A GROUP OF AUTOIMMUNE AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISORDERS WITH CONSTANTLY INCREASING PREVALENCE IN THE MODERN WORLD. THE VAST MAJORITY OF IMIDS DEVELOP AS A CONSEQUENCE OF COMPLEX MECHANISMS DEPENDENT ON GENETIC, EPIGENETIC, MOLECULAR, CELLULAR, AND ENVIRONMENTAL ELEMENTS, THAT LEAD TO DEFECTS IN IMMUNE REGULATORY GUARDIANS OF TOLERANCE, SUCH AS DENDRITIC (DCS) AND REGULATORY T (TREGS) CELLS. AS A RESULT OF THIS DYSFUNCTION, IMMUNE TOLERANCE COLLAPSES AND PATHOGENESIS EMERGES. DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF SUCH DISEASE DRIVING MECHANISMS REMAINS A MAJOR CHALLENGE FOR THE PREVENTION OF INFLAMMATORY DISORDERS. THE RECENT RENAISSANCE IN HIGH THROUGHPUT TECHNOLOGIES HAS ENABLED THE INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF DATA COLLECTED THROUGH MULTIPLE OMICS LAYERS, WHILE ADDITIONALLY NARROWING THE RESOLUTION DOWN TO THE SINGLE CELL LEVEL. IN LIGHT OF THE AFOREMENTIONED, THIS REVIEW FOCUSES ON DCS AND TREGS AND DISCUSSES HOW MULTI-OMICS APPROACHES CAN BE HARNESSED TO CREATE ROBUST CELL-BASED IMID BIOMARKERS IN HOPE OF LEADING TO MORE EFFICIENT AND PATIENT-TAILORED THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS. 2022 14 461 36 ARCHITECTS OF PITUITARY TUMOUR GROWTH. THE PITUITARY IS A MASTER GLAND RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MODULATION OF CRITICAL ENDOCRINE FUNCTIONS. PITUITARY NEUROENDOCRINE TUMOURS (PITNETS) DISPLAY A CONSIDERABLE PREVALENCE OF 1/1106, FREQUENTLY OBSERVED AS BENIGN SOLID TUMOURS. PITNETS STILL REPRESENT A CAUSE OF IMPORTANT MORBIDITY, DUE TO HORMONAL SYSTEMIC DEREGULATION, WITH SURGICAL, RADIOLOGICAL OR CHRONIC TREATMENT REQUIRED FOR ILLNESS MANAGEMENT. THE APPARENT SCARCENESS, UNCOMMON BEHAVIOUR AND MOLECULAR FEATURES OF PITNETS HAVE RESULTED IN A RELATIVELY SLOW PROGRESS IN DEPICTING THEIR PATHOGENESIS. AN APPROPRIATE INTERPRETATION OF DIFFERENT PHENOTYPES OR CELLULAR OUTCOMES DURING TUMOUR GROWTH IS DESIRABLE, SINCE HISTOPATHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION STILL REMAINS THE MAIN OPTION FOR PROGNOSIS ELUCIDATION. IMPROVED KNOWLEDGE OBTAINED IN RECENT DECADES ABOUT PITUITARY TUMORIGENESIS HAS REVEALED THAT THIS PROCESS INVOLVES SEVERAL CELLULAR ROUTES IN ADDITION TO PROLIFERATION AND DEATH, WITH ITS MODULATION DEPENDING ON MANY SIGNALLING PATHWAYS RATHER THAN BEING THE RESULT OF ABNORMALITIES OF A UNIQUE PROLIFERATION PATHWAY, AS SOMETIMES PRESENTED. PITNETS CAN DISPLAY INTRINSIC HETEROGENEITY AND CELL SUBPOPULATIONS WITH DIVERSE BIOLOGICAL, GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC PARTICULARITIES, INCLUDING TUMORIGENIC POTENTIAL. HENCE, TO OBTAIN A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF PITNET GROWTH NEW APPROACHES ARE REQUIRED AND THE SYSTEMATIZATION OF THE AVAILABLE DATA, WITH THE ROLE OF CELL DEATH PROGRAMS, AUTOPHAGY, STEM CELLS, CELLULAR SENESCENCE, MITOCHONDRIAL FUNCTION, METABOLIC REPROGRAMMING STILL BEING EMERGING FIELDS IN PITUITARY RESEARCH. WE ENVISAGE THAT THROUGH THE COMBINATION OF MOLECULAR, GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC DATA, TOGETHER WITH THE IMPROVED MORPHOLOGICAL, BIOCHEMICAL, PHYSIOLOGICAL AND METABOLICALLY KNOWLEDGE ON PITUITARY NEOPLASTIC POTENTIAL ACCUMULATED IN RECENT DECADES, TUMOUR CLASSIFICATION SCHEMES WILL BECOME MORE ACCURATE REGARDING TUMOUR ORIGIN, BEHAVIOUR AND PLAUSIBLE CLINICAL RESULTS. 2022 15 5905 32 TACKLING THE HETEROGENEITY OF CVID. PURPOSE OF REVIEW: COMMON VARIABLE IMMUNODEFICIENCY IS CLINICALLY THE MOST RELEVANT PRIMARY IMMUNODEFICIENCY OF THE ADULT. ITS HETEROGENEITY HAS HINDERED PROGRESS IN THE PATHOGENETIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE MAJORITY OF COMMON VARIABLE IMMUNODEFICIENCY PATIENTS. THIS ABSTRACT SUMMARIZES RECENT ASPECTS OF THE FIELD AND EMPHASIZES THE NEED FOR A COMMONLY ACCEPTED APPROACH TO CLASSIFY COMMON VARIABLE IMMUNODEFICIENCY. RECENT FINDINGS: IN THE LAST 2 YEARS, THE FIRST GENETIC DEFECTS UNDERLYING COMMON VARIABLE IMMUNODEFICIENCY, INCLUDING ICOS, TACI, BAFF-R AND CD19, HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED. THE ANALYSIS OF DENDRITIC CELLS DEMONSTRATED ALTERATIONS IN A MAJORITY OF PATIENTS IN ADDITION TO THE DISTURBED T AND B-CELL FUNCTION. SEVERAL CHANGES OF THE ADAPTIVE IMMUNE SYSTEM MIGHT BE SECONDARY TO AN UNDERLYING CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY SETTING POSSIBLY DUE TO A HHV8 INFECTION IN A SUBGROUP OF PATIENTS WITH GRANULOMATOUS DISEASE, AUTOIMMUNE PHENOMENA AND T-CELL DYSFUNCTION. THE OCCURRENCE OF GRANULOMATOUS INFLAMMATION IS ASSOCIATED WITH A WORSE PROGNOSIS COMPARED WITH COMMON VARIABLE IMMUNODEFICIENCY PATIENTS WITHOUT GRANULOMA. SUMMARY: THE PATHOGENESIS OF COMMON VARIABLE IMMUNODEFICIENCY INCLUDES DISTURBANCES OF THE ADAPTIVE AS WELL AS INNATE IMMUNE SYSTEM. IDENTIFIED MONOGENIC DEFECTS ACCOUNT FOR ABOUT 10% OF CASES, LEAVING THE MAJORITY OF DEFECTS UNDEFINED AND CERTAINLY IN PART EPIGENETIC. TO COMBINE THE KNOWN ASPECTS OF THE PATHOGENESIS OF COMMON VARIABLE IMMUNODEFICIENCY TO A CONCLUSIVE PICTURE, THE CLINICAL AND IMMUNOLOGIC PHENOTYPING OF PATIENTS NEEDS TO BE STANDARDIZED. 2005 16 4153 34 MECHANISTIC INSIGHTS OF CHEMICALS AND DRUGS AS RISK FACTORS FOR SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS. SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS (SLE) IS A CHRONIC AND RELAPSING HETEROGENOUS AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE THAT PRIMARILY AFFECTS WOMEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE. GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS ARE INVOLVED IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF SLE, AND SUSCEPTIBILITY GENES HAVE RECENTLY BEEN IDENTIFIED. HOWEVER, AS GENE THERAPY IS FAR FROM CLINICAL APPLICATION, FURTHER INVESTIGATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS COULD REVEAL IMPORTANT THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES. WE SYSTEMATICALLY EXPLORED TWO GROUPS OF ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS: CHEMICALS (INCLUDING SILICA, SOLVENTS, PESTICIDES, HYDROCARBONS, HEAVY METALS, AND PARTICULATE MATTER) AND DRUGS (INCLUDING PROCAINAMIDE, HYDRALAZINE, QUINIDINE, DPENICILLAMINE, ISONIAZID, AND METHYLDOPA). FURTHERMORE, THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING RISK FACTORS, SUCH AS GENETIC FACTORS, EPIGENETIC CHANGE, AND DISRUPTED IMMUNE TOLERANCE, WERE EXPLORED. THIS REVIEW IDENTIFIES NOVEL RISK FACTORS AND THEIR UNDERLYING MECHANISMS. PRACTICABLE MEASURES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF THESE RISK FACTORS WILL BENEFIT SLE PATIENTS AND PROVIDE POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES. 2020 17 2000 28 EPIGENETIC AND NON-CODING REGULATION OF ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ADDICTION. ALCOHOL USE DISORDER IS A CHRONIC DEBILITATED CONDITION ADVERSELY AFFECTING THE LIVES OF MILLIONS OF INDIVIDUALS THROUGHOUT THE MODERN WORLD. INDIVIDUALS SUFFERING FROM AN ALCOHOL USE DISORDER DIAGNOSIS FREQUENTLY HAVE SERIOUS COOCCURRING CONDITIONS, WHICH OFTEN FURTHER EXACERBATES PROBLEMATIC DRINKING BEHAVIOR. COMPREHENDING THE BIOCHEMICAL PROCESSES UNDERLYING THE PROGRESSION AND PERPETUATION OF DISEASE IS ESSENTIAL FOR MITIGATING MALADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR IN ORDER TO RESTORE BOTH PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH. THE RANGE OF CELLULAR AND BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS CONTRIBUTING TO, AND AFFECTED BY, ALCOHOL USE DISORDER AND OTHER COMORBID DISORDERS NECESSITATES A FUNDAMENTAL GRASP OF INTRICATE FUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS THAT GOVERN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY. EPIGENETIC FACTORS ARE RECOGNIZED AS ESSENTIAL MEDIATORS OF CELLULAR BEHAVIOR, ORCHESTRATING A SYMPHONY OF GENE EXPRESSION CHANGES WITHIN MULTICELLULAR ENVIRONMENTS THAT ARE ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE FOR DIRECTING HUMAN BEHAVIOR. UNDERSTANDING THE EPIGENETIC AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATORY MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF DISEASE IS IMPORTANT FOR IMPROVING AVAILABLE PHARMACOTHERAPIES AND REDUCING THE INCIDENCE OF ALCOHOL ABUSE AND COOCCURRING CONDITIONS. 2021 18 3020 38 GENETICS AND EPIGENETICS OF OSTEOARTHRITIS. OSTEOARTHRITIS (OA) IS A COMMON AGE-RELATED DISEASE THAT AFFECTS THE TISSUES OF THE SYNOVIAL JOINT, LEADING TO LOSS OF FUNCTION AND PAIN. IT IMPACTS ON BOTH PATIENT MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY. IT IS A COMPLEX, POLYGENIC DISEASE THAT LACKS ANY LARGE-EFFECT SUSCEPTIBILITY LOCI. INSTEAD, OA SUSCEPTIBILITY ALLELES INDIVIDUALLY CONTRIBUTE ONLY MODESTLY TO THE OVERALL DISEASE RISK, MAKING THEIR IDENTIFICATION CHALLENGING. DESPITE THIS, BREAKTHROUGHS HAVE OCCURRED WITH COMPELLING ASSOCIATIONS SO FAR REPORTED TO POLYMORPHISMS WITHIN THE GENES GDF5 AND MCF2L AND TO THE GENOMIC REGION 7Q22. THE LATTER TWO HAVE EMERGED FROM GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION SCANS, WHICH ARE LIKELY TO YIELD MORE HITS IN THE NEAR FUTURE. AS FOR MANY COMPLEX DISEASES, IT IS NOW APPARENT THAT EPIGENETIC EFFECTS ARE ALSO IMPORTANT MEDIATORS OF DISEASE BIOLOGY, WITH DNA METHYLATION, HISTONE MODIFICATIONS AND NON-CODING RNAS ALL HAVING A ROLE. AT PRESENT, MUCH OF THE EPIGENETIC FOCUS HAS BEEN ON CARTILAGE, THE TISSUE AT THE CENTER OF THE OA DISEASE PROCESS. IF WE ARE TO GET CLOSE TO A QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPACT OF EPIGENETICS ON OA, THEN IN FUTURE THE OTHER TISSUES OF THE JOINT WILL ALSO NEED TO BE INVESTIGATED. ONE OF THE MORE EXCITING INSIGHTS TO HAVE EMERGED RECENTLY IS THE FACT THAT EPIGENETIC EFFECTS CAN IMPACT ON OA GENETIC EFFECTS AND THIS MAY BE A PARTICULARLY FRUITFUL AVENUE FOR INTEGRATING BOTH AS WE MOVE TOWARD A CLEARER UNDERSTANDING OF THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF THIS INTRIGUING DISEASE. 2012 19 2059 29 EPIGENETIC CONTROL OF GENE EXPRESSION IN THE LUNG. EPIGENETICS IS TRADITIONALLY DEFINED AS THE STUDY OF HERITABLE CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION CAUSED BY MECHANISMS OTHER THAN CHANGES IN THE UNDERLYING DNA SEQUENCE. THERE ARE THREE MAIN CLASSES OF EPIGENETIC MARKS--DNA METHYLATION, MODIFICATIONS OF HISTONE TAILS, AND NONCODING RNAS--EACH OF WHICH MAY BE INFLUENCED BY THE ENVIRONMENT, DIET, DISEASES, AND AGEING. IMPORTANTLY, EPIGENETIC MARKS HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO INFLUENCE IMMUNE CELL MATURATION AND ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE RISK OF DEVELOPING VARIOUS FORMS OF CANCER, INCLUDING LUNG CANCER. MOREOVER, THERE IS EMERGING EVIDENCE THAT THESE EPIGENETIC MARKS AFFECT GENE EXPRESSION IN THE LUNG AND ARE ASSOCIATED WITH BENIGN LUNG DISEASES, SUCH AS ASTHMA, CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE, AND INTERSTITIAL LUNG DISEASE. TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES HAVE MADE IT FEASIBLE TO STUDY EPIGENETIC MARKS IN THE LUNG, AND IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT THIS KNOWLEDGE WILL ENHANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE DYNAMIC BIOLOGY IN THE LUNG AND LEAD TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL DIAGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES FOR OUR PATIENTS WITH LUNG DISEASE. 2011 20 2136 38 EPIGENETIC INFLUENCES IN THE OBESITY/COLORECTAL CANCER AXIS: A NOVEL THERAGNOSTIC AVENUE. THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) CONSIDERS THAT OBESITY HAS REACHED PROPORTIONS OF PANDEMIC. EXPERTS ALSO INSIST ON THE IMPORTANCE OF CONSIDERING OBESITY AS A CHRONIC DISEASE AND ONE OF THE MAIN CONTRIBUTORS TO THE WORLDWIDE BURDEN OF OTHER NONTRANSMISSIBLE CHRONIC DISEASES, WHICH HAVE A GREAT IMPACT ON HEALTH, LIFESTYLE, AND ECONOMIC COST. ONE OF THE MOST CURRENT CHALLENGES OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE FACES IS TO UNDERSTAND THE ORIGIN OF THE CHRONIC NONTRANSMISSIBLE DISEASES, SUCH AS OBESITY AND CANCER. THERE IS A LARGE EVIDENCE, BOTH IN EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES IN HUMANS AND IN ANIMAL MODELS, OF THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN OBESITY AND AN INCREASED RISK OF CANCER INCIDENCE. IN THE LAST YEARS, THE INITIAL DISCOVERY OF EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS REPRESENTS THE MOST RELEVANT FINDING TO EXPLAIN HOW THE GENOME INTERACTS WITH ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND THE RIPPLE EFFECTS ON DISEASE PATHOGENESES. SINCE THEN, ALL EPIGENETIC PROCESS HAS BEEN INVESTIGATED BY THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITIES FOR NEARLY TWO DECADES TO DETERMINE WHICH COMPONENTS ARE INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS. DNA/RNA METHYLATION AND MIRNA ARE CLASSIFIED AS TWO OF THE MOST IMPORTANT REPRESENTATIVE CLASSES OF SUCH EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS AND DYSREGULATED ACTIVITY OF SUCH MECHANISM CAN CERTAINLY CONTRIBUTE TO DISEASE PATHOGENESIS AND/OR PROGRESSION ESPECIALLY IN TUMORS. THIS REVIEW ARTICLE SERVES TO HIGHLIGHT THE IMPACT OF DNA/RNA METHYLATION AND MIRNA-BASED EPIGENETIC MECHANISM ACTIVITIES IN THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN OBESITY AND THE DEVELOPMENT AND CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF COLORECTAL CANCER. 2019