1 5314 109 PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS IN ASTHMA: REPERCUSSIONS ON EPIGENETICS-GENETICS, IMMUNE RESPONSES, AND PULMONARY FUNCTION IN THE PEDIATRIC POPULATION. IN THE ASSESSMENT OF CHILDHOOD ASTHMA, IDENTIFYING THE RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH EXACERBATIONS AND BROADENING THIS VIEW TO UNDERSTAND PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS AND ITS REPERCUSSIONS ON THE INFLAMMATORY PROCESS OF ASTHMA ALLOW A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE ON THIS BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL DISEASE. PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS, AS A RISK FACTOR FOR THE ONSET AND NONCONTROL OF ASTHMA, HAS BEEN INCREASINGLY EVALUATED FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE REPERCUSSIONS ON THE BODY OF THE STIMULUS GENERATED IN THE HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY AXIS AND ADRENAL GLANDS, WITH CORTISOL RELEASE AND IMMUNE SYSTEM ACTION. THESE PROCESSES TRIGGER CHANGES IN T HELPER 2 CELLS, WHICH POLARIZE ALLERGIC PROCESSES, AND DYSFUNCTIONS IN IMMUNE TOLERANCE MECHANISMS, WITH A DECREASE IN REGULATORY T CELLS. GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN BETA(2)-ADRENERGIC AND GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTORS, WITH DECREASED RESPONSE TO THESE DRUGS, WERE ALSO IDENTIFIED IN STUDIES, IN ADDITION TO CHANGES IN RESPIRATORY FUNCTION PATTERNS, WITH WORSENING OF OBSTRUCTION AND INFLAMMATION IDENTIFIED VIA DECREASED FORCED EXPIRATORY VOLUME IN ONE SECOND AND INCREASED EXHALED INFLAMMATORY GASES IN ALLERGIC ASTHMA. THEREFORE, THE PRESENT REVIEW SOUGHT TO IDENTIFY STUDIES ON THE EFFECT OF PERSONAL AND PARENTAL ACUTE OR CHRONIC PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS, EMPHASIZING THE REPERCUSSIONS ON GENETICS, EPIGENETICS, AND IMMUNE AND PULMONARY FUNCTIONAL AND INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES IN THE PEDIATRIC POPULATION. 2022 2 6034 38 THE CHALLENGE BY MULTIPLE ENVIRONMENTAL AND BIOLOGICAL FACTORS INDUCE INFLAMMATION IN AGING: THEIR ROLE IN THE PROMOTION OF CHRONIC DISEASE. THE AGING PROCESS IS DRIVEN BY MULTIPLE MECHANISMS THAT LEAD TO CHANGES IN ENERGY PRODUCTION, OXIDATIVE STRESS, HOMEOSTATIC DYSREGULATION AND EVENTUALLY TO LOSS OF FUNCTIONALITY AND INCREASED DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY. MOST AGED INDIVIDUALS DEVELOP CHRONIC LOW-GRADE INFLAMMATION, WHICH IS AN IMPORTANT RISK FACTOR FOR MORBIDITY, PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT, FRAILTY, AND DEATH. AT ANY AGE, CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASES ARE MAJOR CAUSES OF MORBIMORTALITY, AFFECTING UP TO 5-8% OF THE POPULATION OF INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES. SEVERAL ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS CAN PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE FOR MODIFYING THE INFLAMMATORY STATE. GENETICS ACCOUNTS FOR ONLY A SMALL FRACTION OF CHRONIC-INFLAMMATORY DISEASES, WHEREAS ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS APPEAR TO PARTICIPATE, EITHER WITH A CAUSATIVE OR A PROMOTIONAL ROLE IN 50% TO 75% OF PATIENTS. SEVERAL OF THOSE CHANGES DEPEND ON EPIGENETIC CHANGES THAT WILL FURTHER MODIFY THE INDIVIDUAL RESPONSE TO ADDITIONAL STIMULI. THE INTERACTION BETWEEN INFLAMMATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT OFFERS IMPORTANT INSIGHTS ON AGING AND HEALTH. THESE CONDITIONS, OFTEN DEPENDING ON THE INDIVIDUAL'S SEX, APPEAR TO LEAD TO DECREASED LONGEVITY AND PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE DECLINE. IN ADDITION TO BIOLOGICAL FACTORS, THE ENVIRONMENT IS ALSO INVOLVED IN THE GENERATION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXT LEADING TO STRESS. POOR PSYCHOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENTS AND OTHER SOURCES OF STRESS ALSO RESULT IN INCREASED INFLAMMATION. HOWEVER, THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS AND NUTRITION ON THE REGULATION OF INFLAMMATION, AND HOW THE RESPONSE ELICITED FOR THOSE FACTORS INTERACT AMONG THEM, ARE POORLY UNDERSTOOD. WHEREAS CERTAIN DELETERIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS RESULT IN THE GENERATION OF OXIDATIVE STRESS DRIVEN BY AN INCREASED PRODUCTION OF REACTIVE OXYGEN AND NITROGEN SPECIES, ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM STRESS, AND INFLAMMATION, OTHER FACTORS, INCLUDING NUTRITION (POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS) AND BEHAVIORAL FACTORS (EXERCISE) CONFER PROTECTION AGAINST INFLAMMATION, OXIDATIVE AND ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM STRESS, AND THUS AMELIORATE THEIR DELETERIOUS EFFECT. HERE, WE DISCUSS PROCESSES AND MECHANISMS OF INFLAMMATION ASSOCIATED WITH ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND BEHAVIOR, THEIR LINKS TO SEX AND GENDER, AND THEIR OVERALL IMPACT ON AGING. 2020 3 5164 32 PRECLINICAL AND CLINICAL EVIDENCE OF DNA METHYLATION CHANGES IN RESPONSE TO TRAUMA AND CHRONIC STRESS. EXPOSURE TO CHRONIC STRESS, EITHER REPEATED SEVERE ACUTE OR MODERATE SUSTAINED STRESS, IS ONE OF THE STRONGEST RISK FACTORS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGIES SUCH AS POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AND DEPRESSION. CHRONIC STRESS IS LINKED WITH SEVERAL LASTING BIOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES, PARTICULARLY TO THE STRESS ENDOCRINE SYSTEM BUT ALSO AFFECTING INTERMEDIATE PHENOTYPES SUCH AS BRAIN STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION, IMMUNE FUNCTION, AND BEHAVIOR. ALTHOUGH GENETIC PREDISPOSITION CONFERS A PROPORTION OF THE RISK, THE MOST RELEVANT MOLECULAR MECHANISMS DETERMINING THOSE SUSCEPTIBLE AND RESILIENT TO THE EFFECTS OF STRESS AND TRAUMA MAY BE EPIGENETIC. EPIGENETICS REFERS TO THE MECHANISMS THAT REGULATE GENOMIC INFORMATION BY DYNAMICALLY CHANGING THE PATTERNS OF TRANSCRIPTION AND TRANSLATION OF GENES. MOUNTING EVIDENCE FROM PRECLINICAL RODENT AND CLINICAL POPULATION STUDIES STRONGLY SUPPORT THAT EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS CAN OCCUR IN RESPONSE TO TRAUMATIC AND CHRONIC STRESS. HERE, WE DISCUSS THIS LITERATURE EXAMINING STRESS-INDUCED EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN PRECLINICAL MODELS AND CLINICAL COHORTS OF STRESS AND TRAUMA OCCURRING EARLY IN LIFE OR IN ADULTHOOD. WE HIGHLIGHT THAT A COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TIMING OF ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS AND GENETIC PREDISPOSITIONS LIKELY MEDIATE THE RESPONSE TO CHRONIC STRESS OVER TIME, AND THAT A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF EPIGENETIC CHANGES IS NEEDED BY FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS IN LONGITUDINAL AND POSTMORTEM BRAIN CLINICAL COHORTS. 2017 4 396 29 AN UPDATE ON EPIGENETICS AND CHILDHOOD RESPIRATORY DISEASES. EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS, DEFINED AS CHANGES IN PHENOTYPE OR GENE EXPRESSION CAUSED BY MECHANISMS OTHER THAN CHANGES IN THE UNDERLYING DNA SEQUENCE, HAVE BEEN PROPOSED TO CONSTITUTE A LINK BETWEEN GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT AFFECT COMPLEX DISEASES. RECENT STUDIES SHOW THAT DNA METHYLATION, ONE OF THE KEY EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS, IS ALTERED IN CHILDREN EXPOSED TO AIR POLLUTANTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL TOBACCO SMOKE EARLY IN LIFE. SEVERAL CANDIDATE GENE STUDIES ON EPIGENETICS HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED TO DATE, BUT IT IS ONLY RECENTLY THAT GLOBAL METHYLATION ANALYSES HAVE BEEN PERFORMED FOR RESPIRATORY DISORDERS SUCH AS ASTHMA AND CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE. HOWEVER, LARGE-SCALE STUDIES WITH ADEQUATE POWER ARE YET TO BE PRESENTED IN CHILDREN, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL USE REMAIN TO BE EVALUATED. IN THIS REVIEW, WE SUMMARIZE THE RECENT ADVANCES IN EPIGENETICS AND RESPIRATORY DISORDERS IN CHILDREN, WITH A MAIN FOCUS ON METHODOLOGICAL CHALLENGES AND ANALYSES RELATED TO PHENOTYPE AND EXPOSURE USING GLOBAL METHYLATION APPROACHES. 2014 5 6735 35 WHAT HAVE MECHANISTIC STUDIES TAUGHT US ABOUT CHILDHOOD ASTHMA? CHILDHOOD ASTHMA IS A CHRONIC HETEROGENEOUS SYNDROME CONSISTING OF DIFFERENT DISEASE ENTITIES OR PHENOTYPES. THE IMMUNOLOGIC AND CELLULAR PROCESSES THAT OCCUR DURING ASTHMA DEVELOPMENT ARE STILL NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD BUT REPRESENT DISTINCT ENDOTYPES. MECHANISTIC STUDIES HAVE EXAMINED THE ROLE OF GENE EXPRESSION, PROTEIN LEVELS, AND CELL TYPES IN EARLY LIFE DEVELOPMENT AND THE MANIFESTATION OF ASTHMA, MANY UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULI, WHICH CAN BE BOTH PROTECTIVE AND RISK FACTORS FOR ASTHMA. GENETIC VARIANTS CAN REGULATE GENE EXPRESSION, CONTROLLED PARTLY BY DIFFERENT EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. IN ADDITION, ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, SUCH AS LIVING SPACE, NUTRITION, AND SMOKING, CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THESE MECHANISMS. ALL OF THESE FACTORS PRODUCE MODIFICATIONS IN GENE EXPRESSION THAT CAN ALTER THE DEVELOPMENT AND FUNCTION OF IMMUNE AND EPITHELIAL CELLS AND SUBSEQUENTLY DIFFERENT TRAJECTORIES OF CHILDHOOD ASTHMA. THESE EARLY CHANGES IN A PARTIALLY IMMATURE IMMUNE SYSTEM CAN HAVE DRAMATIC EFFECTS (E.G., CAUSING DYSREGULATION), WHICH IN TURN CONTRIBUTE TO DIFFERENT DISEASE ENDOTYPES AND MAY HELP TO EXPLAIN DIFFERENTIAL RESPONSIVENESS TO ASTHMA TREATMENT. IN THIS REVIEW, WE SUMMARIZE PUBLISHED STUDIES THAT HAVE AIMED TO UNCOVER DISTINCT MECHANISMS IN CHILDHOOD ASTHMA, CONSIDERING GENETICS, EPIGENETICS, AND ENVIRONMENT. MOREOVER, A DISCUSSION OF NEW, POWERFUL TOOLS FOR SINGLE-CELL IMMUNOLOGIC ASSAYS FOR PHENOTYPIC AND FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS IS INCLUDED, WHICH PROMISE NEW MECHANISTIC INSIGHTS INTO CHILDHOOD ASTHMA DEVELOPMENT AND THERAPEUTIC AND PREVENTIVE STRATEGIES. 2023 6 5813 22 STRESS AND ASTHMA: NOVEL INSIGHTS ON GENETIC, EPIGENETIC, AND IMMUNOLOGIC MECHANISMS. IN THE UNITED STATES THE ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED AND SOME ETHNIC MINORITIES ARE OFTEN EXPOSED TO CHRONIC PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESSORS AND DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED BY ASTHMA. CURRENT EVIDENCE SUGGESTS A CAUSAL ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CHRONIC PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESS AND ASTHMA OR ASTHMA MORBIDITY. RECENT FINDINGS SUGGEST POTENTIAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THIS ASSOCIATION, INCLUDING CHANGES IN THE METHYLATION AND EXPRESSION OF GENES THAT REGULATE BEHAVIORAL, AUTONOMIC, NEUROENDOCRINE, AND IMMUNOLOGIC RESPONSES TO STRESS. THERE IS ALSO EVIDENCE SUGGESTING THE EXISTENCE OF SUSCEPTIBILITY GENES THAT PREDISPOSE CHRONICALLY STRESSED YOUTH TO BOTH POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AND ASTHMA. IN THIS REVIEW WE CRITICALLY EXAMINE PUBLISHED EVIDENCE AND SUGGEST FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR RESEARCH IN THIS FIELD. 2014 7 3123 36 GETTING AN INSIGHT INTO THE COMPLEXITY OF MAJOR CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY AND DEGENERATIVE DISEASES: A POTENTIAL NEW SYSTEMIC APPROACH TO THEIR TREATMENT. AS THE MODERN SOCIETY IS TROUBLED BY MULTI-FACTORIAL DISEASES, RESEARCH HAS BEEN CONDUCTED ON COMPLEX REALITIES INCLUDING CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, CANCER, OBESITY, HIV INFECTION, METABOLIC SYNDROME AND ITS DETRIMENTAL CARDIOVASCULAR COMPLICATIONS AS WELL AS DEPRESSION AND OTHER BRAIN DISORDERS. DETERIORATION OF CRUCIAL HOMEOSTATIC MECHANISMS IN SUCH DISEASES INVARIABLY RESULTS IN ACTIVATION OF INFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS, CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, LOSS IN IMMUNOLOGICAL FUNCTION, INCREASED SUSCEPTIBILITY TO DISEASES, ALTERATION OF METABOLISM, DECREASE OF ENERGY PRODUCTION AND NEURO-COGNITIVE DECLINE. REGULATION OF GENES EXPRESSION BY EPIGENETIC CODE IS THE DOMINANT MECHANISM FOR THE TRANSDUCTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL INPUTS, SUCH AS STRESS AND INFLAMMATION TO LASTING PHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES. ACUTE AND CHRONIC STRESS DETERMINES DNA METHYLATION AND HISTONE MODIFICATIONS IN BRAIN REGIONS WHICH MAY CONTRIBUTE TO NEURO-DEGENERATIVE DISORDERS. NUCLEAR GLUCOCORTICOIDS RECEPTOR INTERACTS WITH THE EPIGENOMA RESULTING IN A CORTISOL RESISTANCE STATUS ASSOCIATED WITH A DETERIORATION OF THE METABOLIC AND IMMUNE FUNCTIONS. GONADAL STEROIDS RECEPTORS HAVE A SIMILAR CAPACITY TO PRODUCE EPIGENOMIC REORGANIZATION OF CHROMATINE STRUCTURE. EPIGENOMIC-INDUCED REDUCTION IN IMMUNE CELLS TELOMERES LENGTH HAS BEEN OBSERVED IN MANY DEGENERATIVE DISEASES, INCLUDING ALL TYPES OF CANCER. THE FINAL RESULT OF THESE EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS IS A SERIOUS DAMAGE TO THE NEURO-ENDOCRINE-IMMUNE-METABOLIC ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS. IN THIS STUDY, WE PROPOSE A TREATMENT WITH STEM CELLS DIFFERENTIATION STAGE FACTORS TAKEN FROM ZEBRAFISH EMBRYOS WHICH ARE ABLE TO REGULATE THE GENES EXPRESSION OF NORMAL AND PATHOLOGICAL STEM CELLS IN A DIFFERENT SPECIFIC WAY. 2015 8 5756 34 SOCIOECONOMIC DEPRIVATION, ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES AND MEDICAL DISORDERS IN ADULTHOOD: MECHANISMS AND ASSOCIATIONS. SEVERE SOCIOECONOMIC DEPRIVATION (SED) AND ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES (ACE) ARE SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT IN ADULTHOOD OF (I) ENHANCED INFLAMMATORY STATUS AND/OR HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL (HPA) AXIS DYSFUNCTION AND (II) NEUROLOGICAL, NEUROPROGRESSIVE, INFLAMMATORY AND AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES. THE MECHANISMS BY WHICH THESE ASSOCIATIONS TAKE PLACE ARE DETAILED. THE TWO SETS OF CONSEQUENCES ARE THEMSELVES STRONGLY ASSOCIATED, WITH THE FIRST SET LIKELY CONTRIBUTING TO THE SECOND. MECHANISMS ENABLING BIDIRECTIONAL COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE IMMUNE SYSTEM AND THE BRAIN ARE DESCRIBED, INCLUDING COMPLEX SIGNALLING PATHWAYS FACILITATED BY FACTORS AT THE LEVEL OF IMMUNE CELLS. ALSO DETAILED ARE MECHANISMS UNDERPINNING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SED, ACE AND THE GENESIS OF PERIPHERAL INFLAMMATION, INCLUDING EPIGENETIC CHANGES TO IMMUNE SYSTEM-RELATED GENE EXPRESSION. THE DURATION AND MAGNITUDE OF INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES CAN BE INFLUENCED BY GENETIC FACTORS, INCLUDING SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISMS, AND BY EPIGENETIC FACTORS, WHEREBY PRO-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES, REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES, REACTIVE NITROGEN SPECIES AND NUCLEAR FACTOR-KAPPAB AFFECT GENE DNA METHYLATION AND HISTONE ACETYLATION AND ALSO INDUCE SEVERAL MICRORNAS INCLUDING MIR-155, MIR-181B-1 AND MIR-146A. ADULT HPA AXIS ACTIVITY IS REGULATED BY (I) GENETIC FACTORS, SUCH AS GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR POLYMORPHISMS; (II) EPIGENETIC FACTORS AFFECTING GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR FUNCTION OR EXPRESSION, INCLUDING THE METHYLATION STATUS OF ALTERNATIVE PROMOTER REGIONS OF NR3C1 AND THE METHYLATION OF FKBP5 AND HSD11BETA2; (III) CHRONIC INFLAMMATION AND CHRONIC NITROSATIVE AND OXIDATIVE STRESS. FINALLY, IT IS SHOWN HOW SEVERE PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS ADVERSELY AFFECTS MITOCHONDRIAL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONING AND IS ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGES IN BRAIN MITOCHONDRIAL DNA COPY NUMBER AND TRANSCRIPTION; MITOCHONDRIA CAN ACT AS COURIERS OF CHILDHOOD STRESS INTO ADULTHOOD. 2019 9 2160 21 EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS IN ASTHMA. ASTHMA AND ALLERGIC DISEASES ARE AMONG THE MOST PREVALENT CHRONIC NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES OF CHILDHOOD, BUT THE UNDERLYING PATHOGENETIC MECHANISMS ARE POORLY UNDERSTOOD. BECAUSE EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS LINK GENE REGULATION TO ENVIRONMENTAL CUES AND DEVELOPMENTAL TRAJECTORIES, THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO ASTHMA AND ALLERGY PATHOGENESIS IS UNDER ACTIVE INVESTIGATION. DNA METHYLATION SIGNATURES ASSOCIATED WITH CONCURRENT DISEASE AND WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF ASTHMA DURING CHILDHOOD ASTHMA HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED, BUT THEIR SIGNIFICANCE IS NOT EASILY INTERPRETABLE. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE CHARACTERIZATION OF EARLY EPIGENETIC PREDICTORS OF ASTHMA POINTS TO A POTENTIAL ROLE OF EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS IN REGULATING THE INCEPTION OF, AND THE SUSCEPTIBILITY TO, THIS DISEASE. 2016 10 6199 35 THE IMPORTANCE OF EPIGENETICS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE. IT IS GENERALLY ACCEPTED THAT GENETIC PREDISPOSITION PLAYS A ROLE IN COPD DEVELOPMENT IN SUSCEPTIBLE INDIVIDUALS. THEREFORE, MANY CANDIDATE GENES THAT COULD BE LINKED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF DISEASE HAVE BEEN EXAMINED IN COPD. HOWEVER, INCONSISTENT RESULTS IN DIFFERENT STUDY POPULATIONS OFTEN LIMIT THIS APPROACH, SUGGESTING THAT NOT ONLY GENETICS, BUT ALSO OTHER FACTORS, MAY BE CONTRIBUTED TO THE SUSCEPTIBILITY TO COPD. EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS CAN AFFECT THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL ACTIVITY OF SPECIFIC GENES, AT DIFFERENT POINTS IN TIME, AND IN DIFFERENT ORGANS. MOREOVER, THESE MECHANISMS CAN HAVE AN EFFECT ON PEOPLE'S HEALTH. RECENTLY, THERE IS EMERGING EVIDENCE SUPPORTING A ROLE OF EPIGENETICS FOR THE REGULATION OF INFLAMMATORY GENES IN DISEASES SUCH AS ASTHMA AND COPD. MOREOVER, RECENT STUDIES SUGGEST THAT THE CURRENTLY USED TREATMENTS INCLUDING CORTICOSTEROIDS MAY WORK THROUGH EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. EPIGENETIC REGULATION CAN BE REPROGRAMMED, POTENTIALLY AFFECTING THE RISK, AETIOLOGY AND TREATMENT OF VARIOUS DISEASE STATES. THE EPIGENETICALLY INFLUENCED PHENOTYPE COULD BE REVERSED WITH DEMETHYLATING OR DEACETYLATING AGENTS, CONSISTENT WITH EPIGENETIC PLASTICITY. THE POSTNATAL REVERSIBILITY OF THESE METHYLATION OR ACETYLATION EVENTS MAY THEREFORE PROVIDE GOOD OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTERVENTION. THE RECOGNITION OF THE ROLE OF GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF COPD MAY IDENTIFY NOVEL TARGETS THAT HATCH NEW THERAPIES FOR PATIENTS WITH COPD. 2011 11 5552 32 ROLE OF EPIGENETICS IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF ASTHMA. ASTHMA IS A COMPLEX, HETEROGENEOUS AND CHRONIC AIRWAY INFLAMMATORY DISEASE WITH DIFFERENT CLINICAL PHENOTYPES CAUSED BY DIVERSE TRIGGERS AND PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS. ASTHMA HERITABILITY HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED IN MANY GENETIC STUDIES BUT IT IS EVIDENT THAT ONLY GENETIC ELEMENTS ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ASTHMA. INCREASING RATE OF ASTHMA INCIDENCE DURING PAST DECADES HAS IMPLICATED THE ROLE OF EPIGENETICS IN DEVELOPMENT OF ASTHMA. ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS PERFORM AS INITIATOR SIGNALS THROUGH EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. THREE EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED, INCLUDING DNA METHYLATION, HISTONE MODIFICATIONS, AND SMALL NONCODING RNAS. THESE MECHANISMS REGULATE THE IMMUNE RESPONSES AND INFLAMMATORY GENES EXPRESSION IN ASTHMA AND ALLERGY. THIS REVIEW EXPLAINS THE ROLE OF EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS IN CONTROLLING TH2 RESPONSE AND IGE PRODUCTION IN ASTHMA AND ALSO BRIEFLY OVERVIEWS THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS SUCH AS POLLUTIONS, ALLERGENS, PRENATAL EXPOSURES AND DIET IN DEVELOPING ASTHMA. RECOGNIZING ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS AND THEIR EFFECTS ON EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS WOULD BE OF GREAT INTEREST FOR PROGNOSTIC AND PREVENTIVE ASPECT IN TREATMENT OF ASTHMA. 2017 12 2984 28 GENETIC DETERMINANTS OF POOR RESPONSE TO TREATMENT IN SEVERE ASTHMA. SEVERE ASTHMA IS A MULTIFACTORIAL DISORDER WITH MARKED PHENOTYPIC HETEROGENEITY AND COMPLEX INTERACTIONS BETWEEN GENETICS AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS, WHICH COULD, AT LEAST IN PART, EXPLAIN WHY DURING STANDARD PHARMACOLOGIC TREATMENT, MANY PATIENTS REMAIN POORLY CONTROLLED AND AT AN INCREASED RISK OF AIRWAY REMODELING AND DISEASE PROGRESSION. THE CONCEPT OF "PRECISION MEDICINE" TO BETTER SUIT INDIVIDUAL UNIQUE NEEDS IS AN EMERGING TREND IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC RESPIRATORY DISEASES. OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES (GWAS) HAVE REVEALED NOVEL PHARMACOGENETIC VARIANTS RELATED TO RESPONSES TO INHALED CORTICOSTEROIDS AND THE CLINICAL EFFICACY OF BRONCHODILATORS. OPTIMAL CLINICAL RESPONSE TO TREATMENT MAY VARY BETWEEN RACIAL/ETHNIC GROUPS OR INDIVIDUALS DUE TO GENETIC DIFFERENCES. IT IS ALSO PLAUSIBLE TO ASSUME THAT EPIGENETIC FACTORS PLAY A KEY ROLE IN THE MODULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION PATTERNS AND INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES. REMARKABLY, SPECIFIC GENETIC VARIANTS RELATED TO TREATMENT EFFECTIVENESS MAY INDICATE PROMISING PATHWAYS FOR NOVEL THERAPIES IN SEVERE ASTHMA. IN THIS REVIEW, WE PROVIDE A CONCISE UPDATE OF GENETIC DETERMINANTS OF POOR RESPONSE TO TREATMENT IN SEVERE ASTHMA AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS IN THE FIELD. 2021 13 874 32 CHRONIC ALLERGY SIGNALING: IS IT ALL STRESSED-OUT MITOCHONDRIA? ALLERGIC DISEASES IN GENERAL, AND CHRONIC ALLERGIC INFLAMMATION IN PARTICULAR, ARE ON THE RISE IN THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER DEVELOPED COUNTRIES. THE IDEA OF CHRONIC ALLERGIC DISEASE AS A CHRONIC TYPE 2 IMMUNE RESPONSE HAS BEEN AROUND FOR SEVERAL DECADES. HOWEVER, DATA SUGGEST THAT OTHER MECHANISMS MAY BE IMPORTANT IN CHRONIC DISEASE. THEREFORE, WE BELIEVE IT IS TIME FOR A PARADIGM SHIFT IN UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISTIC CAUSES OF DISEASE SYMPTOMS IN THESE DISEASES. IN THIS REVIEW, WE HAVE AVOIDED THE CLASSIC CANONICAL PATHWAYS AND FOCUSED ON THE EMERGING IDEA THAT OXIDATIVE STRESS, CHANGES IN IMMUNO-METABOLISM, MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION, AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES (PARTICULARLY MICRORNA PROFILE) MAY BE WORKING CONCURRENTLY OR SYNERGISTICALLY TO POTENTIATE ALLERGIC DISEASE SYMPTOMS. FURTHERMORE, WE HAVE ADDRESSED HOW THE EPIDEMIC OF OBESITY EXACERBATES ALLERGIC DISEASE VIA THE DYSREGULATION OF THE AFOREMENTIONED FACTORS. 2022 14 4896 35 OXIDATIVE STRESS IN AIRWAY DISEASES. AIRWAY OXIDATIVE STRESS IS BROADLY DEFINED AS AN IMBALANCE BETWEEN PROOXIDATIVE AND ANTIOXIDATIVE PROCESSES IN THE AIRWAY. GIVEN ITS DIRECT EXPOSURE TO THE ENVIRONMENT, THE LUNG HAS SEVERAL MECHANISMS TO PREVENT AN EXCESSIVE DEGREE OF OXIDATIVE STRESS. BOTH ENZYMATIC AND NONENZYMATIC SYSTEMS CAN BUFFER A WIDE RANGE OF REACTIVE OXIDATIVE SPECIES AND OTHER COMPOUNDS WITH OXIDATIVE POTENTIAL. IN DISEASES LIKE ASTHMA AND CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE LUNG DISEASE, AIRWAY OXIDATIVE STRESS CAN OCCUR FROM A NUMBER OF SOURCES, INCLUDING GREATER EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROOXIDANTS, AIRWAY INFILTRATION OF INFLAMMATORY CELLS, METABOLIC DEREGULATION, AND REDUCED LEVELS OF ANTIOXIDANTS. AIRWAY OXIDATIVE STRESS HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH WORSE DISEASE SEVERITY, REDUCED LUNG FUNCTION, AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES THAT CAN DIMINISH RESPONSE TO STEROIDS. ALTHOUGH OXIDATIVE STRESS HAS BEEN LINKED TO A WIDE RANGE OF ADVERSE BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS, IT HAS ALSO BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH ADAPTIVE RESPONSES AND WITH RESOLUTION OF INFLAMMATION. THEREFORE, MORE THAN BEING AN IMBALANCE WITH A PREDICTABLE THRESHOLD AFTER WHICH DISEASE OR INJURY ENSUES, OXIDATIVE STRESS IS A DYNAMIC AND CONTINUOUS PROCESS. THIS MIGHT EXPLAIN WHY SUPPLEMENTING ANTIOXIDANTS HAS LARGELY FAILED TO IMPROVE DISEASES SUCH AS ASTHMA AND CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE. HOWEVER, THE THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL OF ANTIOXIDANTS COULD BE GREATLY IMPROVED BY TAKING AN APPROACH THAT CONSIDERS INDIVIDUAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS, INSTEAD OF TREATING OXIDATIVE AIRWAY STRESS BROADLY. 2013 15 1360 32 DEVELOPMENTAL ASPECTS OF A LIFE COURSE APPROACH TO HEALTHY AGEING. WE EXAMINE THE MECHANISTIC BASIS AND WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF ADOPTING A DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVE ON HUMAN AGEING. PREVIOUS MODELS OF AGEING HAVE CONCENTRATED ON ITS GENETIC BASIS, OR THE DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS OF ACCUMULATED DAMAGE, BUT ALSO HAVE RAISED ISSUES ABOUT WHETHER AGEING CAN BE VIEWED AS ADAPTIVE ITSELF, OR IS A CONSEQUENCE OF OTHER ADAPTIVE PROCESSES, FOR EXAMPLE IF MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR PROCESSES IN THE PERIOD UP TO REPRODUCTION ARE TRADED OFF AGAINST LATER DECLINE IN FUNCTION. A LIFE COURSE MODEL PLACES AGEING IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ATTAINMENT OF PEAK CAPACITY FOR A BODY SYSTEM, STARTING IN EARLY DEVELOPMENT WHEN PLASTICITY PERMITS CHANGES IN STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION INDUCED BY A RANGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULI, FOLLOWED BY A PERIOD OF DECLINE, THE RATE OF WHICH DEPENDS ON THE PEAK ATTAINED AS WELL AS THE LATER LIFE CONDITIONS. SUCH PATH DEPENDENCY IN THE RATE OF AGEING MAY OFFER NEW INSIGHTS INTO ITS MODIFICATION. FOCUSING ON MUSCULOSKELETAL AND CARDIOVASCULAR FUNCTION, WE DISCUSS THIS MODEL AND THE POSSIBLE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS, INCLUDING ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION, OXIDATIVE STRESS, STEM CELLS AND NUTRITIONAL FACTORS SUCH AS VITAMIN D STATUS. EPIGENETIC CHANGES INDUCED DURING DEVELOPMENTAL PLASTICITY, AND IMMUNE FUNCTION MAY PROVIDE A COMMON MECHANISTIC PROCESS UNDERLYING A LIFE COURSE MODEL OF AGEING. THE LIFE COURSE TRAJECTORY DIFFERS IN HIGH AND LOW RESOURCE SETTINGS. NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE DEVELOPMENTAL COMPONENTS OF THE LIFE COURSE MODEL OF AGEING MAY LEAD TO THE DESIGN OF BIOMARKERS OF LATER CHRONIC DISEASE RISK AND TO NEW INTERVENTIONS TO PROMOTE HEALTHY AGEING, WITH IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH. 2016 16 247 32 ADULTHOOD ASTHMA AS A CONSEQUENCE OF CHILDHOOD ADVERSITY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF EPIGENETICALLY AFFECTED GENES. THERE IS AN ACCUMULATING DATA THAT SHOWS RELATION BETWEEN CHILDHOOD ADVERSITY AND VULNERABILITY TO CHRONIC DISEASES AS WELL AS EPIGENETIC INFLUENCES THAT IN TURN GIVE RISE TO THESE DISEASES. ASTHMA IS ONE OF THE CHRONIC DISEASES THAT IS INFLUENCED FROM GENETIC REGULATION OF THE INFLAMMATORY BIOMOLECULES AND THEREFORE THE HYPOTHESIS IN THIS RESEARCH WAS CHILDHOOD ADVERSITY MIGHT HAVE CAUSED EPIGENETIC DIFFERENTIATION IN THE ASTHMA-RELATED GENES IN THE POPULATION WHO HAD CHILDHOOD TRAUMA. TO TEST THIS HYPOTHESIS, THE LITERATURE WAS SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEWED TO EXTRACT EPIGENETICALLY MODIFIED GENE DATA OF THE ADULTS WHO HAD CHILDHOOD ADVERSITY, AND AFFECTED GENES WERE FURTHER EVALUATED FOR THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH ASTHMA. PRISMA GUIDELINES WERE ADOPTED AND PUBMED AND GOOGLE SCHOLAR WERE INCLUDED IN THE SEARCHED DATABASES, TO EVALUATE EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS IN ASTHMA-RELATED GENES OF PHYSICALLY, EMOTIONALLY OR SEXUALLY ABUSED CHILDREN. AFTER RETRIEVING A TOTAL OF 5245 ARTICLES, 36 OF THEM WERE INCLUDED IN THE STUDY. SEVERAL GENES AND PATHWAYS THAT MAY CONTRIBUTE TO PATHOGENESIS OF ASTHMA DEVELOPMENT, INCREASED INFLAMMATION, OR RESPONSE TO ASTHMA TREATMENT WERE FOUND EPIGENETICALLY AFFECTED BY CHILDHOOD TRAUMAS. CHILDHOOD ADVERSITY, CAUSING EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN DNA, MAY LEAD TO ASTHMA DEVELOPMENT OR INFLUENCE THE COURSE OF THE DISEASE AND THEREFORE SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT FOR THE PROLONGED HEALTH CONSEQUENCES. 2022 17 6228 33 THE LINKS BETWEEN STRESS AND DEPRESSION: PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGICAL, GENETIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTIONS. THE ROLE OF STRESS IN THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF DEPRESSION MAY BE CONCEIVED AS THE RESULT OF MULTIPLE CONVERGING FACTORS, INCLUDING THE CHRONIC EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS AND THE LONG-LASTING EFFECTS OF STRESSFUL EXPERIENCES DURING CHILDHOOD, ALL OF WHICH MAY INDUCE PERSISTENT HYPERACTIVITY OF THE HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL AXIS. THESE CHANGES, INCLUDING INCREASED AVAILABILITY OF CORTICOTROPIN-RELEASING FACTOR AND CORTISOL, ARE ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH HYPERACTIVITY OF THE AMYGDALA, HYPOACTIVITY OF THE HIPPOCAMPUS, AND DECREASED SEROTONERGIC NEUROTRANSMISSION, WHICH TOGETHER RESULT IN INCREASED VULNERABILITY TO STRESS. THE ROLE OF OTHER MONOAMINERGIC NEUROTRANSMITTERS, GENETIC POLYMORPHISMS, EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS, INFLAMMATORY PROCESSES, AND ALTERED COGNITIVE PROCESSING HAS ALSO BEEN CONSIDERED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE MODEL OF THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN DIFFERENT FACTORS OF VULNERABILITY. FURTHER UNDERSTANDING OF THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS THAT LINK THESE FACTORS MAY CONTRIBUTE SIGNIFICANTLY TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS AND PREVENTIVE STRATEGIES IN THE INTERFACE BETWEEN STRESS AND MOOD DISORDERS. 2016 18 2531 33 EPIGENETICS IN ASTHMA. PURPOSE OF REVIEW: ASTHMA IS ONE OF THE MOST COMMON CHRONIC RESPIRATORY DISEASES LINKED WITH INCREASED MORBIDITY AND HEALTHCARE UTILIZATION. THE UNDERLYING PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESSES AND CAUSAL RELATIONSHIPS OF ASTHMA WITH EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS ARE PARTIALLY UNDERSTOOD. HERE WE REVIEW HUMAN STUDIES OF EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS IN ASTHMA, WITH A SPECIAL FOCUS ON DNA METHYLATION. RECENT FINDINGS: EPIGENETIC STUDIES OF CHILDHOOD ASTHMA HAVE IDENTIFIED SPECIFIC METHYLATION SIGNATURES ASSOCIATED WITH ALLERGIC INFLAMMATION IN THE AIRWAY AND IMMUNE CELLS, DEMONSTRATING A REGULATORY ROLE FOR METHYLATION IN ASTHMA PATHOGENESIS. DESPITE THESE NOVEL FINDINGS, ADDITIONAL RESEARCH IN THE ROLE OF EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS UNDERLYING ASTHMA ENDOTYPES IS NEEDED. SIMILARLY, STUDIES OF HISTONE MODIFICATIONS ARE ALSO LACKING IN ASTHMA. FUTURE STUDIES OF EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS IN ASTHMA WILL BENEFIT FROM DATA INTEGRATION IN WELL PHENOTYPED COHORTS. THIS REVIEW PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF THE CURRENT LITERATURE ON EPIGENETIC STUDIES IN HUMAN ASTHMA, WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON METHYLATION AND CHILDHOOD ASTHMA. 2019 19 3028 25 GENETICS OF COMPLEX AIRWAY DISEASE. THE PAST 3 YEARS HAVE SEEN HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT GENETIC EFFECTS IDENTIFIED FOR A WIDE VARIETY OF COMMON COMPLEX DISEASES, INCLUDING THE AIRWAY DISORDERS OF ASTHMA AND CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE. IT APPEARS THAT ONLY A PORTION OF THE GENETICALLY MEDIATED SUSCEPTIBILITY TO COMPLEX DISEASES HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED, AND THERE IS MUCH LEFT TO BE DISCOVERED. THIS REVIEW BRIEFLY DESCRIBES THE RESULTS OF THE GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES OF ASTHMA AND GIVES AN OVERVIEW OF THE PARALLEL AND INCREASINGLY LARGE-SCALE STUDIES THAT ARE TAKING PLACE WITH CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE. THE FUTURE IMPACT IS DISCUSSED OF TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES THAT ALLOW INCREASINGLY LARGE-SCALE GENE EXPRESSION STUDIES, NEXT-GENERATION SEQUENCING, AND GENOME-WIDE TESTING FOR EPIGENETIC EFFECTS. THE USE OF GENETIC TECHNOLOGY TO EXAMINE THE AIRWAY MICROBIOTA THAT INTERACT WITH THE MUCOSA IN HEALTH AND DISEASE IS DESCRIBED. 2011 20 801 32 CENTRAL AND PERIPHERAL IMMUNE DYSREGULATION IN POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER: CONVERGENT MULTI-OMICS EVIDENCE. POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) IS A CHRONIC AND MULTIFACTORIAL DISORDER WITH A PREVALENCE RANGING BETWEEN 6-10% IN THE GENERAL POPULATION AND ~35% IN INDIVIDUALS WITH HIGH LIFETIME TRAUMA EXPOSURE. GROWING EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT THE IMMUNE SYSTEM MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE ETIOLOGY OF PTSD, SUGGESTING THE INFLAMMATORY DYSREGULATION AS A HALLMARK FEATURE OF PTSD. HOWEVER, THE POTENTIAL INTERPLAY BETWEEN THE CENTRAL AND PERIPHERAL IMMUNE SYSTEM, AS WELL AS THE BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THIS DYSREGULATION REMAIN POORLY UNDERSTOOD. THE ACTIVATION OF THE HPA AXIS AFTER TRAUMA EXPOSURE AND THE SUBSEQUENT ACTIVATION OF THE INFLAMMATORY SYSTEM MEDIATED BY GLUCOCORTICOIDS IS THE MOST COMMON MECHANISM THAT ORCHESTRATES AN EXACERBATED IMMUNOLOGICAL RESPONSE IN PTSD. RECENT HIGH-THROUGHPUT ANALYSES IN PERIPHERAL AND BRAIN TISSUE FROM BOTH HUMANS WITH AND ANIMAL MODELS OF PTSD HAVE FOUND THAT CHANGES IN GENE REGULATION VIA EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS MAY PARTICIPATE IN THE IMPAIRED INFLAMMATORY SIGNALING IN PTSD. THE GOAL OF THIS REVIEW IS TO ASSESS THE ROLE OF THE INFLAMMATORY SYSTEM IN PTSD ACROSS TISSUE AND SPECIES, WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON THE GENOMICS, TRANSCRIPTOMICS, EPIGENOMICS, AND PROTEOMICS DOMAINS. WE CONDUCTED AN INTEGRATIVE MULTI-OMICS APPROACH IDENTIFYING TNF (TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR) SIGNALING, INTERLEUKINS, CHEMOKINES, TOLL-LIKE RECEPTORS AND GLUCOCORTICOIDS AMONG THE COMMON DYSREGULATED PATHWAYS IN BOTH CENTRAL AND PERIPHERAL IMMUNE SYSTEMS IN PTSD AND PROPOSE POTENTIAL NOVEL DRUG TARGETS FOR PTSD TREATMENT. 2022