1 5526 78 RNA EDITING IN MESOTHELIOMA: A LOOK FORWARD. RNA EDITING IS A POST-TRANSCRIPTIONAL PROCESS INCREASING TRANSCRIPT DIVERSITY, THEREBY REGULATING DIFFERENT BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES. WE RECENTLY OBSERVED THAT MUTATIONS RESULTING FROM RNA EDITING DUE TO HYDROLYTIC DEAMINATION OF ADENOSINE INCREASE DURING THE DEVELOPMENT OF MESOTHELIOMA, A RARE CANCER LINKED TO CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO ASBESTOS. THIS REVIEW GATHERS INFORMATION FROM THE PUBLISHED LITERATURE AND PUBLIC DATA MINING TO EXPLORE SEVERAL ASPECTS OF RNA EDITING AND THEIR POSSIBLE IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER GROWTH AND THERAPY. WE ADDRESS POSSIBLE LINKS BETWEEN RNA EDITING AND PARTICULAR TYPES OF MESOTHELIOMA GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS AND DISCUSS THE RELEVANCE OF AN EDITED SUBSTRATE IN THE CONTEXT OF CURRENT CHEMOTHERAPY OR IMMUNOTHERAPY. 2020 2 3038 21 GENOME ENGINEERING FOR OSTEOARTHRITIS: FROM DESIGNER CELLS TO DISEASE-MODIFYING DRUGS. BACKGROUND: OSTEOARTHRITIS (OA) IS A HIGHLY PREVALENT DEGENERATIVE JOINT DISEASE INVOLVING JOINT CARTILAGE AND ITS SURROUNDING TISSUES. OA IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF PAIN AND DISABILITY WORLDWIDE. AT PRESENT, THERE ARE NO DISEASE-MODIFYING OA DRUGS, AND THE PRIMARY THERAPIES INCLUDE EXERCISE AND NONSTEROIDAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUGS UNTIL TOTAL JOINT REPLACEMENT AT THE END-STAGE OF THE DISEASE. METHODS: IN THIS REVIEW, WE SUMMARIZED THE CURRENT STATE OF KNOWLEDGE IN GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC ASSOCIATIONS AND RISK FACTORS FOR OA AND THEIR POTENTIAL DIAGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS. RESULTS: GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES AND ANALYSIS OF EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS (SUCH AS MIRNA EXPRESSION, DNA METHYLATION AND HISTONE MODIFICATIONS) CONDUCTED ACROSS VARIOUS POPULATIONS SUPPORT THE NOTION THAT THERE IS A GENETIC BASIS FOR CERTAIN SUBSETS OF OA PATHOGENESIS. CONCLUSION: WITH RECENT ADVANCES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF GENOME EDITING TECHNOLOGIES SUCH AS THE CRISPR-CAS9 SYSTEM, THESE GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC ALTERNATIONS IN OA CAN BE USED AS PLATFORMS FROM WHICH POTENTIAL BIOMARKERS FOR THE DIAGNOSIS, PROGNOSIS, DRUG RESPONSE, AND DEVELOPMENT OF POTENTIAL PERSONALIZED THERAPEUTIC TARGETS FOR OA CAN BE APPROACHED. FURTHERMORE, GENOME EDITING HAS ALLOWED THE DEVELOPMENT OF "DESIGNER" CELLS, WHEREBY THE RECEPTORS, GENE REGULATORY NETWORKS, OR TRANSGENES CAN BE MODIFIED AS A BASIS FOR NEW CELL-BASED THERAPIES. 2019 3 3958 27 LONG NON-CODING RNAS IN BONE METASTASIS: PROGRESSES AND PERSPECTIVES AS POTENTIAL DIAGNOSTIC AND PROGNOSTIC BIOMARKERS. IN A PRECISION MEDICINE PERSPECTIVE, AMONG THE BIOMARKERS POTENTIALLY USEFUL FOR EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF CANCERS, AS WELL AS TO DEFINE THEIR PROGNOSIS AND EVENTUALLY TO IDENTIFY NOVEL AND MORE EFFECTIVE THERAPEUTIC TARGETS, THERE ARE THE LONG NON-CODING RNAS (LNCRNAS). THE TERM LNCRNA IDENTIFIES A CLASS OF NON-CODING RNA MOLECULES INVOLVED IN THE REGULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION THAT INTERVENE AT THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL, POST-TRANSCRIPTIONAL, AND EPIGENETIC LEVEL. METASTASIS IS A NATURAL EVOLUTION OF SOME MALIGNANT TUMOURS, FREQUENTLY ENCOUNTERED IN PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED CANCERS. ONSET AND DEVELOPMENT OF METASTASIS REPRESENTS A DETRIMENTAL EVENT THAT WORSEN THE PATIENT'S PROGNOSIS BY PROFOUNDLY INFLUENCING THE QUALITY OF LIFE AND IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OMINOUS PROGRESSION OF THE DISEASE. DUE TO THE PECULIAR ENVIRONMENT AND THE BIOMECHANICAL PROPERTIES, BONE IS A PREFERENTIAL SITE FOR THE SECONDARY GROWTH OF BREAST, PROSTATE AND LUNG CANCERS. UNFORTUNATELY, ONLY PALLIATIVE AND PAIN THERAPIES ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FOR PATIENTS WITH BONE METASTASES, WHILE NO EFFECTIVE AND DEFINITIVE TREATMENTS ARE AVAILABLE. THE UNDERSTANDING OF PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL BASIS OF BONE METASTASIS FORMATION AND PROGRESSION, AS WELL AS THE IMPROVEMENT IN THE CLINICAL MANAGEMENT OF THE PATIENT, ARE CENTRAL BUT CHALLENGING TOPICS IN BASIC RESEARCH AND CLINICAL PRACTICE. THE IDENTIFICATION OF NEW MOLECULAR SPECIES THAT MAY HAVE A ROLE AS EARLY HALLMARKS OF THE METASTATIC PROCESS COULD OPEN THE DOOR TO THE DEFINITION OF NEW, AND MORE EFFECTIVE, THERAPEUTIC AND DIAGNOSTIC APPROACHES. NON-CODING RNAS SPECIES AND, PARTICULARLY, LNCRNAS ARE PROMISING COMPOUNDS IN THIS SETTING, AND THEIR STUDY MAY BRING TO THE IDENTIFICATION OF RELEVANT PROCESSES. IN THIS REVIEW, WE HIGHLIGHT THE ROLE OF LNCRNAS AS EMERGING MOLECULES IN MEDIATING THE FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF BONE METASTASES, AS POSSIBLE BIOMARKERS FOR CANCER DIAGNOSIS AND PROGNOSIS, AND AS THERAPEUTIC TARGETS TO COUNTERACT CANCER SPREAD. 2023 4 3703 20 INFLAMMATORY SIGNALLING AS MEDIATOR OF EPIGENETIC MODULATION IN TISSUE-SPECIFIC CHRONIC INFLAMMATION. RECENT SUCCESSES OF THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION IN CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASES USING EPIGENETIC MODIFIERS SUCH AS HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITORS AND INHIBITORS OF DNA METHYLATION SUGGEST THAT EPIGENETIC REPROGRAMMING PLAYS A ROLE IN THE AETIOLOGY OF THESE DISEASES. THE EPIGENETIC SIGNATURE OF A GIVEN IMMUNE CELL IS REFLECTED IN THE HISTORY OF MODIFICATIONS FROM DIFFERENT SIGNALS THE CELL HAS BEEN SUBJECTED TO DURING DIFFERENTIATION. LIKE OTHER CELLS, DIFFERENTIATING IMMUNE CELLS ARE DEPENDENT ON A COMPLEX COMBINATION OF INTER- AND INTRACELL SIGNALLING AS WELL AS TRANSCRIPTION MACHINERIES TO MODULATE THEIR EPIGENOMES IN ORDER TO MEDIATE DIFFERENTIATION. DESPITE EXTENSIVE RESEARCH INTO THESE PROCESSES, THE LINK BETWEEN CELLULAR SIGNALLING AND EPIGENETIC MODULATION REMAINS POORLY UNDERSTOOD. HERE, WE REVIEW RECENT PROGRESS AND DISCUSS KEY FACTORS DRIVING EPIGENETIC MODULATION IN CHRONIC INFLAMMATION. 2009 5 6244 19 THE MECHANISMS OF HSC ACTIVATION AND EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF HSCS PHENOTYPES. EPIGENETICS IS A DYNAMICALLY EXPANDING FIELD OF SCIENCE ENTAILING NUMEROUS REGULATORY MECHANISMS CONTROLLING CHANGES OF GENE EXPRESSION IN RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS. OVER THE RECENT YEARS THERE HAS BEEN A GREAT INTEREST IN EPIGENETIC MARKS AS A POTENTIAL DIAGNOSTIC AND PROGNOSTIC TOOL OR FUTURE TARGET FOR TREATMENT OF VARIOUS HUMAN DISEASES. THERE IS AN INCREASING BODY OF PUBLISHED RESEARCH TO SUGGEST THAT EPIGENETIC EVENTS REGULATE PROGRESSION OF CHRONIC LIVER DISEASE. EXPERIMENTAL MANIPULATION OF EPIGENETIC SIGNATURES SUCH AS DNA METHYLATION, HISTONE ACETYLATION / METHYLATION AND THE ACTIVITIES OF PROTEINS THAT EITHER ANNOTATE OR INTERPRET THESE EPIGENETIC MARKS CAN HAVE PROFOUND EFFECTS ON THE ACTIVATION AND PHENOTYPE OF HSC, KEY CELLS RESPONSIBLE FOR ONSET AND PROGRESSION OF LIVER FIBROSIS. THIS REVIEW PRESENTS RECENT ADVANCES IN EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS, WHICH COULD PROVIDE MECHANISTIC INSIGHT INTO THE PATHOGENESIS OF CHRONIC LIVER DISEASE AND PROVIDE NOVEL CLINICAL APPLICATIONS. 2014 6 1172 27 CONTRIBUTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT, EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS AND NON-CODING RNAS IN PSORIASIS. DESPITE THE INCREASING RESEARCH AND CLINICAL INTEREST IN THE PREDISPOSITION OF PSORIASIS, A CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY SKIN DISEASE, THE MULTITUDE OF GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS INVOLVED IN ITS PATHOGENESIS REMAIN UNCLEAR. THIS COMPLEXITY IS FURTHER EXACERBATED BY THE SEVERAL CELL TYPES THAT ARE IMPLICATED IN PSORIASIS'S PROGRESSION, INCLUDING KERATINOCYTES, MELANOCYTES AND VARIOUS IMMUNE CELL TYPES. THE OBSERVED INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE GENETIC SUBSTRATE AND THE ENVIRONMENT LEAD TO EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS THAT DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY AFFECT GENE EXPRESSION. CHANGES IN DNA METHYLATION AND HISTONE MODIFICATIONS THAT ALTER DNA-BINDING SITE ACCESSIBILITY, AS WELL AS NON-CODING RNAS IMPLICATED IN THE POST-TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION, ARE MECHANISMS OF GENE TRANSCRIPTIONAL ACTIVITY MODIFICATION AND THEREFORE AFFECT THE PATHWAYS INVOLVED IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF PSORIASIS. IN THIS REVIEW, WE SUMMARIZE THE RESEARCH CONDUCTED ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE DISEASE ONSET, EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS AND NON-CODING RNAS EXHIBITING DEREGULATION IN PSORIASIS, AND WE FURTHER CATEGORIZE THEM BASED ON THE UNDER-STUDY CELL TYPES. WE ALSO ASSESS THE RECENT LITERATURE CONSIDERING THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS TARGETING MOLECULES THAT COMPROMISE THE EPIGENOME, AS A WAY TO SUPPRESS THE INFLAMMATORY CUTANEOUS CASCADE. 2022 7 2906 22 GENE EDITING FOR INFLAMMATORY DISORDERS. TECHNOLOGY FOR PRECISE AND EFFICIENT GENETIC EDITING IS CONSTANTLY EVOLVING AND IS NOW CAPABLE OF HUMAN CLINICAL APPLICATIONS. AUTOIMMUNE AND INFLAMMATORY DISEASES ARE CHRONIC, DISABLING, SOMETIMES LIFE-THREATENING, CONDITIONS THAT FEATURE HERITABLE COMPONENTS. BOTH PRIMARY GENETIC LESIONS AND THE INFLAMMATORY PATHOBIOLOGY UNDERLYING THESE DISEASES REPRESENT FERTILE SOIL FOR NEW THERAPIES BASED ON THE CAPABILITIES OF GENE EDITING. THE ABILITY TO ORCHESTRATE PRECISE TARGETED MODIFICATIONS TO THE GENOME WILL LIKELY ENABLE CELL-BASED THERAPIES FOR INFLAMMATORY DISEASES SUCH AS MONOGENIC AUTOINFLAMMATORY DISEASE, ACQUIRED AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE AND FOR REGENERATIVE MEDICINE IN THE SETTING OF AN INFLAMMATORY ENVIRONMENT. HERE, WE DISCUSS RECENT ADVANCES IN GENOME EDITING AND THEIR EVOLVING APPLICATIONS IN IMMUNOINFLAMMATORY DISEASES. STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF OLDER GENETIC MODIFICATION TOOLS ARE COMPARED WITH CRISPR/CAS9, BASE EDITING, RNA EDITING, TARGETED ACTIVATORS AND REPRESSORS OF TRANSCRIPTION AND TARGETED EPIGENETIC MODIFIERS. COMMONLY EMPLOYED DELIVERY VEHICLES TO TARGET CELLS OR TISSUES OF INTEREST WITH GENETIC MODIFICATION MACHINERY, INCLUDING VIRAL, NON-VIRAL AND CELLULAR VECTORS, ARE DESCRIBED. FINALLY, APPLICATIONS IN ANIMAL AND HUMAN MODELS OF INFLAMMATORY DISEASES ARE DISCUSSED. USE OF CHIMERIC AUTOANTIGEN RECEPTOR T CELLS, CORRECTION OF MONOGENIC DISEASES WITH GENETICALLY EDITED HAEMATOPOIETIC STEM AND PROGENITOR CELLS, ENGINEERING OF INDUCED PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS AND EX VIVO EXPANSION AND MODIFICATION OF REGULATORY T CELLS FOR A RANGE OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASES ARE REVIEWED. 2019 8 3964 29 LONG NONCODING RNAS IN LUNG CANCER. DESPITE GREAT PROGRESS IN RESEARCH AND TREATMENT OPTIONS, LUNG CANCER REMAINS THE LEADING CAUSE OF CANCER-RELATED DEATHS WORLDWIDE. ONCOGENIC DRIVER MUTATIONS IN PROTEIN-ENCODING GENES WERE DEFINED AND ALLOW FOR PERSONALIZED THERAPIES BASED ON GENETIC DIAGNOSES. NONETHELESS, DIAGNOSIS OF LUNG CANCER MOSTLY OCCURS AT LATE STAGES, AND CHRONIC TREATMENT IS FOLLOWED BY A FAST ONSET OF CHEMORESISTANCE. HENCE, THERE IS AN URGENT NEED FOR RELIABLE BIOMARKERS AND ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT OPTIONS. WITH THE ERA OF WHOLE GENOME AND TRANSCRIPTOME SEQUENCING TECHNOLOGIES, LONG NONCODING RNAS EMERGED AS A NOVEL CLASS OF VERSATILE, FUNCTIONAL RNA MOLECULES. ALTHOUGH FOR MOST OF THEM THE MECHANISM OF ACTION REMAINS TO BE DEFINED, ACCUMULATING EVIDENCE CONFIRMS THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN VARIOUS ASPECTS OF LUNG TUMORIGENESIS. THEY ARE FUNCTIONAL ON THE EPIGENETIC, TRANSCRIPTIONAL, AND POSTTRANSCRIPTIONAL LEVEL AND ARE REGULATORS OF PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL KEY PATHWAYS INCLUDING CELL GROWTH, APOPTOSIS, AND METASTASIS. LONG NONCODING RNAS ARE GAINING INCREASING ATTENTION AS POTENTIAL BIOMARKERS AND A NOVEL CLASS OF DRUGGABLE MOLECULES. IT HAS BECOME CLEAR THAT WE ARE ONLY BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEXITY OF TUMORIGENIC PROCESSES. THE CLINICAL INTEGRATION OF LONG NONCODING RNAS IN TERMS OF PROGNOSTIC AND PREDICTIVE BIOMARKER SIGNATURES AND ADDITIONAL CANCER TARGETS COULD PROVIDE A CHANCE TO INCREASE THE THERAPEUTIC BENEFIT. HERE, WE REVIEW THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE EXPRESSION, REGULATION, BIOLOGICAL FUNCTION, AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE OF LONG NONCODING RNAS IN LUNG CANCER. 2016 9 209 23 ACTIVATION-INDUCED CYTIDINE DEAMINASE: IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH. ACTIVATION INDUCED CYTIDINE DEAMINASE (AID) IS AN ESSENTIAL ENZYME OF THE ADAPTIVE IMMUNE SYSTEM. ITS CANONICAL ACTIVITY IS RESTRICTED TO B LYMPHOCYTES, PLAYING AN ESSENTIAL ROLE IN THE DIVERSIFICATION OF ANTIBODIES BY ENHANCING SPECIFICITY AND CHANGING AFFINITY. THIS IS POSSIBLE THROUGH ITS DNA DEAMINASE FUNCTION, LEADING TO MUTATIONS IN DNA. IN THE LAST DECADE, AID HAS BEEN ASSIGNED AN ADDITIONAL FUNCTION: THAT OF A POWERFUL DNA DEMETHYLATOR. ADVERSE CELLULAR CONDITIONS SUCH AS CHRONIC INFLAMMATION CAN LEAD TO ITS DEREGULATION AND OVEREXPRESSION. IT IS AN IMPORTANT DRIVER OF B-CELL LYMPHOMA DUE TO ITS NATURAL ABILITY TO MODIFY DNA THROUGH DEAMINATION, LEADING TO MUTATIONS AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES. HOWEVER, THE DEREGULATION OF AID IS NOT RESTRICTED TO LYMPHOID CELLS. RECENT FINDINGS HAVE PROVIDED NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE ROLE THAT THIS PROTEIN PLAYS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NON-LYMPHOID CANCERS, WITH SOME RESEARCH SHEDDING LIGHT ON NOVEL AID-DRIVEN MECHANISMS OF CELLULAR TRANSFORMATION. IN THIS REVIEW, WE PROVIDE AN UPDATED NARRATIVE OF THE NORMAL PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF AID. ADDITIONALLY, WE REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE RECENT RESEARCH STUDIES THAT HAVE IMPLICATED AID IN CARCINOGENESIS IN VARYING TISSUE TYPES INCLUDING LYMPHOID AND NON-LYMPHOID CANCERS. WE REVIEW THE MECHANISMS, WHEREBY AID PROMOTES CARCINOGENESIS AND HIGHLIGHT IMPORTANT AREAS OF FUTURE RESEARCH. 2020 10 733 23 CANCER EPIGENETICS: LINKING BASIC BIOLOGY TO CLINICAL MEDICINE. CANCER EVOLUTION AT ALL STAGES IS DRIVEN BY BOTH EPIGENETIC ABNORMALITIES AS WELL AS GENETIC ALTERATIONS. DYSREGULATION OF EPIGENETIC CONTROL EVENTS MAY LEAD TO ABNORMAL PATTERNS OF DNA METHYLATION AND CHROMATIN CONFIGURATIONS, BOTH OF WHICH ARE CRITICAL CONTRIBUTORS TO THE PATHOGENESIS OF CANCER. THESE EPIGENETIC ABNORMALITIES ARE SET AND MAINTAINED BY MULTIPLE PROTEIN COMPLEXES AND THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN THEIR INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS INCLUDING DNA METHYLATION MACHINERY, HISTONE MODIFIERS, PARTICULARLY, POLYCOMB (PCG) PROTEINS, AND CHROMATIN REMODELING PROTEINS. RECENT ADVANCES IN GENOME-WIDE TECHNOLOGY HAVE REVEALED THAT THE INVOLVEMENT OF THESE DYSREGULATED EPIGENETIC COMPONENTS APPEARS TO BE EXTENSIVE. MOREOVER, THERE IS A GROWING CONNECTION BETWEEN EPIGENETIC ABNORMALITIES IN CANCER AND CONCEPTS CONCERNING STEM-LIKE CELL SUBPOPULATIONS AS A DRIVING FORCE FOR CANCER. EMERGING DATA SUGGEST THAT ASPECTS OF THE EPIGENETIC LANDSCAPE INHERENT TO NORMAL EMBRYONIC AND ADULT STEM/PROGENITOR CELLS MAY HELP FOSTER, UNDER THE STRESS OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION OR ACCUMULATING REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES, EVOLUTION OF MALIGNANT SUBPOPULATIONS. FINALLY, UNDERSTANDING MOLECULAR MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN INITIATION AND MAINTENANCE OF EPIGENETIC ABNORMALITIES IN ALL TYPES OF CANCER HAS GREAT POTENTIAL FOR TRANSLATIONAL PURPOSES. THIS IS ALREADY EVIDENT FOR EPIGENETIC BIOMARKER DEVELOPMENT, AND FOR PHARMACOLOGICAL TARGETING AIMED AT REVERSING CANCER-SPECIFIC EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS. 2011 11 6809 15 [EPIGENETICS IN INFLAMMATORY SYSTEMIC DISEASES]. IN ADDITION TO ANALYSIS OF THE GENETIC CODE, IN RECENT YEARS MORE AND MORE STUDIES HAVE CONCENTRATED ON CHANGES IN THE EPIGENETIC CODE. EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS DETERMINE WHICH GENES IN A CELL ARE TRANSCRIBED AND THUS FORM THE PHENOTYPE OF A CELL. THE EPIGENETIC CODE CAN BE CHANGED BY ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES, WHICH ALLOWS CELLS TO ADAPT TO LONGSTANDING CHANGES IN THE ENVIRONMENT. THEREFORE, IT IS FEASIBLE TO ASSUME THAT EPIGENETIC CHANGES ARE THE MOLECULAR BASIS FOR LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF THE ENVIRONMENT ON DISEASE DEVELOPMENT. IN PARTICULAR IN TUMORS AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASES EPIGENETIC CHANGES WERE FOUND TO CORRELATE WITH DISEASE SEVERITY AND PROGRESSION. KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THESE EPIGENETIC CHANGES MIGHT HELP THAT EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS CAN BE USED IN THE FUTURE AS BIOMARKERS, PROGNOSTIC FACTORS AND THERAPEUTIC TARGETS. 2014 12 4285 21 MICRORNA EPIGENETIC SIGNATURES IN HUMAN DISEASE. MICRORNAS (MIRNAS) ARE SHORT NON-CODING RNAS THAT ACT AS IMPORTANT REGULATORS OF GENE EXPRESSION AS PART OF THE EPIGENETIC MACHINERY. IN ADDITION TO POSTTRANSCRIPTIONAL GENE SILENCING BY MIRNAS, THE EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS ALSO INCLUDE DNA METHYLATION, HISTONE MODIFICATIONS AND THEIR CROSSTALK. EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS WERE REPORTED TO PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN MANY DISEASE ONSETS AND PROGRESSIONS AND CAN BE USED TO EXPLAIN SEVERAL FEATURES OF COMPLEX DISEASES, SUCH AS LATE ONSET AND FLUCTUATION OF SYMPTOMS. HOWEVER, MIRNAS NOT ONLY FUNCTION AS A PART OF EPIGENETIC MACHINERY, BUT ARE ALSO EPIGENETICALLY MODIFIED BY DNA METHYLATION AND HISTONE MODIFICATION LIKE ANY OTHER PROTEIN-CODING GENE. THERE IS A STRONG CONNECTION BETWEEN EPIGENOME AND MIRNOME, AND ANY DYSREGULATION OF THIS COMPLEX SYSTEM CAN RESULT IN VARIOUS PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS. IN ADDITION, MIRNAS PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN TOXICOGENOMICS AND MAY EXPLAIN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TOXICANT EXPOSURE AND TUMORIGENESIS. THE PRESENT REVIEW PROVIDES INFORMATION ON 63 MIRNA GENES SHOWN TO BE EPIGENETICALLY REGULATED IN ASSOCIATION WITH 21 DISEASES, INCLUDING 11 CANCER TYPES: CARDIAC FIBROSIS, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, PREECLAMPSIA, HIRSCHSPRUNG'S DISEASE, RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, SYSTEMIC SCLEROSIS, SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS, TEMPORAL LOBE EPILEPSY, AUTISM, PULMONARY FIBROSIS, MELANOMA, ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA, CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA, COLORECTAL, GASTRIC, CERVICAL, OVARIAN, PROSTATE, LUNG, BREAST, AND BLADDER CANCER. THE REVIEW REVEALED THAT HSA-MIR-34A, HSA-MIR-34B, AND HSA-MIR-34C ARE THE MOST FREQUENTLY REPORTED EPIGENETICALLY DYSREGULATED MIRNAS. THERE IS A NEED TO FURTHER STUDY MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF VARIOUS DISEASES TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE CROSSTALK BETWEEN EPIGENETICS AND GENE EXPRESSION AND TO DEVELOP NEW THERAPEUTIC OPTIONS AND BIOMARKERS. 2016 13 2333 18 EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF INFLAMMATION: THE METABOLOMICS CONNECTION. EPIGENETIC FACTORS ARE CONSIDERED THE REGULATOR OF COMPLEX MACHINERY BEHIND INFLAMMATORY DISORDERS AND SIGNIFICANTLY CONTRIBUTED TO THE EXPRESSION OF INFLAMMATION-ASSOCIATED GENES. EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS MODULATE VARIATION IN THE EXPRESSION PATTERN OF TARGET GENES WITHOUT AFFECTING THE DNA SEQUENCE. THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE OF EPIGENETIC RESEARCH FOCUSED ON THEIR ROLE IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF VARIOUS INFLAMMATORY DISEASES THAT CAUSES MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY WORLDWIDE. INFLAMMATORY DISEASES ARE CATEGORIZED AS ACUTE AND CHRONIC BASED ON THE DISEASE SEVERITY AND ARE REGULATED BY THE EXPRESSION PATTERN OF VARIOUS GENES. HENCE, UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS DURING INFLAMMATION PROGRESSION WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE DISEASE OUTCOMES AND THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES. THIS REVIEW ALSO FOCUSES ON THE METABOLOMICS APPROACH ASSOCIATED WITH THE STUDY OF INFLAMMATORY DISORDERS. INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES AND METABOLIC REGULATION ARE HIGHLY INTEGRATED AND VARIOUS ADVANCED TECHNIQUES ARE ADOPTED TO STUDY THE METABOLIC SIGNATURE MOLECULES. HERE WE DISCUSS SEVERAL METABOLOMICS APPROACHES USED TO LINK INFLAMMATORY DISORDERS AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES. WE PROPOSED THAT DECIPHERING THE MECHANISM BEHIND THE INFLAMMATION-METABOLISM LOOP MAY HAVE IMMENSE IMPORTANCE IN BIOMARKERS RESEARCH AND MAY ACT AS A PRINCIPAL COMPONENT IN DRUG DISCOVERY AS WELL AS THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS. 2022 14 4228 13 METHYLATION OF INFLAMMATORY CELLS IN LUNG DISEASES. THIS CHAPTER OVERVIEWS ROLES OF DNA METHYLATION IN INFLAMMATORY CELL BIOLOGY WITH THE FOCUSES ON LYMPHOCYTES AND MACROPHAGES/MONOCYTES IN LUNG DISEASES, ALTHOUGH THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS BY WHICH TARGET GENES ARE METHYLATED AND REGULATED IN LUNG DISEASES REMAIN UNCLEAR. MOST OF EPIGENETIC STUDIES ON DNA METHYLATION OF TARGET GENES IN LUNG DISEASES MAINLY DEMONSTRATED THE CORRELATION OF DNA METHYLATION OF TARGET GENES WITH THE LEVELS OF OTHER CORRESPONDING FACTORS, WITH THE SPECIFICITY OF CLINICAL PHENOMES, AND WITH THE SEVERITY OF LUNG DISEASES. THERE IS AN URGENT NEED TO IDENTIFY AND VALIDATE THE SPECIFICITY AND REGULATORY MECHANISMS OF INFLAMMATORY CELL EPIGENETICS IN DEPTH. THE EPIGENETIC HETEROGENEITY AMONG DIFFERENT SUBSETS OF T CELLS AND AMONG PROMOTERS OR NON-PROMOTERS OF TARGET GENES SHOULD BE FURTHERMORE CLARIFIED IN ACUTE OR CHRONIC LUNG DISEASES AND CANCERS. THE HYPER/HYPO-METHYLATION AND MODIFICATIONS OF CHROMOSOL AND EXTRACHROMOSOMAL DNA MAY RESULT IN ALTERNATIONS IN PROTEINS WITHIN INFLAMMATORY CELLS, WHICH CAN BE IDENTIFIED AS DISEASE-SPECIFIC BIOMARKERS AND THERAPEUTIC TARGETS. 2020 15 4675 23 NEW INSIGHTS INTO UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISMS, PATHOGENESIS, AND MANAGEMENT OF MALIGNANT MESOTHELIOMAS. MALIGNANT MESOTHELIOMA (MM) IS A RELATIVELY RARE BUT DEVASTATING TUMOR THAT IS INCREASING WORLDWIDE. YET, BECAUSE OF DIFFICULTIES IN EARLY DIAGNOSIS AND RESISTANCE TO CONVENTIONAL THERAPIES, MM REMAINS A CHALLENGE FOR PATHOLOGISTS AND CLINICIANS TO TREAT. IN RECENT YEARS, MUCH HAS BEEN REVEALED REGARDING THE MECHANISMS OF INTERACTIONS OF PATHOGENIC FIBERS WITH MESOTHELIAL CELLS, CRUCIAL SIGNALING PATHWAYS, AND GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC EVENTS THAT MAY OCCUR DURING THE PATHOGENESIS OF THESE UNUSUAL, PLEIOMORPHIC TUMORS. THESE OBSERVATIONS SUPPORT A SCENARIO WHEREBY MESOTHELIAL CELLS UNDERGO A SERIES OF CHRONIC INJURY, INFLAMMATION, AND PROLIFERATION IN THE LONG LATENCY PERIOD OF MM DEVELOPMENT THAT MAY BE PERPETUATED BY DURABLE FIBERS, THE TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT, AND INFLAMMATORY STIMULI. ONE CULPRIT IN SUSTAINED INFLAMMATION IS THE ACTIVATED INFLAMMASOME, A COMPONENT OF MACROPHAGES OR MESOTHELIAL CELLS THAT LEADS TO PRODUCTION OF CHEMOTACTIC, GROWTH-PROMOTING, AND ANGIOGENIC CYTOKINES. THIS INFORMATION HAS BEEN VITAL TO DESIGNING NOVEL THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES FOR PATIENTS WITH MM THAT FOCUS ON IMMUNOTHERAPY, TARGETING GROWTH FACTOR RECEPTORS AND PATHWAYS, OVERCOMING RESISTANCE TO APOPTOSIS, AND MODIFYING EPIGENETIC CHANGES. 2013 16 2413 17 EPIGENETIC SIGNALING AND RNA REGULATION IN CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES. RNA EPIGENETICS IS PERHAPS THE MOST RECENT FIELD OF INTEREST FOR TRANSLATIONAL EPIGENETICISTS. RNA MODIFICATIONS CREATE SUCH AN EXTENSIVE NETWORK OF EPIGENETICALLY DRIVEN COMBINATIONS WHOSE ROLE IN PHYSIOLOGY AND PATHOPHYSIOLOGY IS STILL FAR FROM BEING ELUCIDATED. NOT SURPRISINGLY, SOME OF THE PLAYERS DETERMINING CHANGES IN RNA STRUCTURE ARE IN COMMON WITH THOSE INVOLVED IN DNA AND CHROMATIN STRUCTURE REGULATION, WHILE OTHER MOLECULES SEEM VERY SPECIFIC TO RNA. IT IS ENVISAGED, THEN, THAT NEW SMALL MOLECULES, ACTING SELECTIVELY ON RNA EPIGENETIC CHANGES, WILL BE REPORTED SOON, OPENING NEW THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS BASED ON THE CORRECTION OF THE RNA EPIGENETIC LANDSCAPE. IN THIS REVIEW, WE SHALL SUMMARIZE SOME ASPECTS OF RNA EPIGENETICS LIMITED TO THOSE IN WHICH THE POTENTIAL CLINICAL TRANSLATABILITY TO CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE IS EMERGING. 2020 17 5291 24 PROSTATE CARCINOGENESIS: INSIGHTS IN RELATION TO EPIGENETICS AND INFLAMMATION. PROSTATE CANCER IS A MULTIFACTORIAL DISEASE THAT MAINLY OCCURS DUE TO THE ACCUMULATION OF SOMATIC, GENETIC, AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES, RESULTING IN THE INACTIVATION OF TUMOR-SUPPRESSOR GENES AND ACTIVATION OF ONCOGENES. MUTATIONS IN GENES, SPECIFICALLY THOSE THAT CONTROL CELL GROWTH AND DIVISION OR THE REPAIR OF DAMAGED DNA, MAKE THE CELLS GROW AND DIVIDE UNCONTROLLABLY TO FORM A TUMOR. THE RISK OF DEVELOPING PROSTATE CANCER DEPENDS UPON THE GENE THAT HAS UNDERGONE THE MUTATION. IDENTIFYING SUCH GENETIC RISK FACTORS FOR PROSTATE CANCER POSES A CHALLENGE FOR THE RESEARCHERS. BESIDES GENETIC MUTATIONS, MANY EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS, INCLUDING DNA METHYLATION, HISTONE MODIFICATIONS (METHYLATION, ACETYLATION, UBIQUITYLATION, SUMOYLATION, AND PHOSPHORYLATION) NUCLEOSOMAL REMODELING, AND CHROMOSOMAL LOOPING, HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY CONTRIBUTED TO THE ONSET OF PROSTATE CANCER AS WELL AS THE PROGNOSIS, DIAGNOSIS, AND TREATMENT OF PROSTATE CANCER. CHRONIC INFLAMMATION ALSO PLAYS A MAJOR ROLE IN THE ONSET AND PROGRESSION OF HUMAN CANCER, VIA MODIFICATIONS IN THE TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT BY INITIATING EPITHELIALMESENCHYMAL TRANSITION AND REMODELING THE EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX. IN THIS ARTICLE, THE AUTHORS PRESENT A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MECHANISMS AND POTENTIAL LINKS BETWEEN THE GENETIC ABERRATIONS, EPIGENETIC CHANGES, INFLAMMATION, AND INFLAMMASOMES THAT ARE KNOWN TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE PROGNOSIS OF PROSTATE CANCER. FURTHERMORE, THE AUTHORS EXAMINE AND DISCUSS THE CLINICAL POTENTIAL OF PROSTATE CARCINOGENESIS IN RELATION TO EPIGENETICS AND INFLAMMATION FOR ITS DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT.. 2021 18 928 20 CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, THE TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT AND CARCINOGENESIS. CHRONIC INFLAMMATION OFTEN PRECEDES OR ACCOMPANIES A SUBSTANTIAL NUMBER OF CANCERS. INDEED, ANTI-INFLAMMATORY THERAPIES HAVE SHOWN EFFICACY IN CANCER PREVENTION AND TREATMENT. THE EXACT MECHANISMS THAT TURN A WOUND HEALING PROCESS INTO A CANCER PRECURSOR ARE TOPICS OF INTENSE RESEARCH. A PATHOGENIC LINK HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED BETWEEN INFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS, INFLAMMATION RELATED GENE POLYMORPHISMS AND CARCINOGENESIS. ANIMAL MODELS OF CANCER HAVE BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN DEMONSTRATING THE DIVERSITY OF MECHANISMS THROUGH WHICH EVERY TUMOR COMPARTMENT AND TUMOR STAGE MAY BE AFFECTED BY THE UNDERLYING INFLAMMATORY PROCESS. IN THIS REVIEW, WE FOCUS ON THE INTERACTION BETWEEN CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, TUMOR STEM CELLS AND THE TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT. WE SUMMARIZE THE PROPOSED MECHANISMS THAT LEAD TO THE RECRUITMENT OF BONE MARROW DERIVED CELLS AND EXPLORE THE GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS THAT MAY OCCUR IN INFLAMMATION ASSOCIATED CANCERS. 2009 19 6213 19 THE INTESTINAL EPITHELIAL CELL CYCLE: UNCOVERING ITS 'CRYPTIC' NATURE. PURPOSE OF REVIEW: TO DISCUSS THE RECENT LANDMARK FINDINGS THAT HAVE INCREASED OUR UNDERSTANDING NOT ONLY OF THE ROLE OF THE EPITHELIAL CELL CYCLE IN THE HOMEOSTASIS OF THE SMALL INTESTINE, BUT ALSO ITS RELEVANCE TO INFLAMMATION AND CANCER. RECENT FINDINGS: RECENT DATA HAVE UNVEILED NOVEL INFORMATION ON PROTEIN INTERACTIONS DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN THE CELL CYCLE AS WELL AS IN THE PATHWAYS THAT TRANSDUCE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL SIGNALS TO THE CELL CYCLE. A GROWING BODY OF THE RECENT EVIDENCE CONFIRMS THE IMPORTANCE OF FOOD AS WELL AS HORMONAL REGULATION IN THE GUT ON CELL CYCLE. INFORMATION ON THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE EPITHELIAL MICROENVIRONMENT, INCLUDING THE MICROBIOTA, HAS GROWN SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE RECENT YEARS AS WELL AS ON THE GENE-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS AND THE MULTIPLE EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN REGULATING CELL-CYCLE PROTEINS AND SIGNALLING. FINALLY, FURTHER STUDIES INVESTIGATING THE DYSREGULATION OF THE CELL CYCLE DURING INFLAMMATION AND PROLIFERATION HAVE INCREASED OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASES AND CANCER. SUMMARY: THIS REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS SOME OF THE MOST RECENT ADVANCES THAT FURTHER EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CELL CYCLE IN THE SMALL INTESTINE DURING HOMEOSTASIS AS WELL AS IN INFLAMMATION AND CANCER. 2015 20 6131 20 THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF WOUND HEALING. SIGNIFICANCE: EPIGENETIC REGULATORY MECHANISMS ARE ESSENTIAL FOR EPIDERMAL HOMEOSTASIS AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE PATHOGENESIS OF MANY SKIN DISEASES, INCLUDING SKIN CANCER AND PSORIASIS. HOWEVER, WHILE THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF EPIDERMAL HOMEOSTASIS IS NOW BECOMING ACTIVE AREA OF RESEARCH, THE EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS CONTROLLING THE WOUND HEALING RESPONSE REMAIN RELATIVELY UNTOUCHED. RECENT ADVANCES: SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS ACHIEVED WITHIN THE LAST TWO DECADES IN UNDERSTANDING EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS CONTROLLING GENE EXPRESSION ALLOWED DEFINING SEVERAL LEVELS, INCLUDING COVALENT DNA AND HISTONE MODIFICATIONS, ATP-DEPENDENT AND HIGHER-ORDER CHROMATIN CHROMATIN REMODELING, AS WELL AS NONCODING RNA- AND MICRORNA-DEPENDENT REGULATION. RESEARCH PERTAINED OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS SUGGESTS THAT EPIGENETIC REGULATORY MECHANISMS PLAY A PIVOTAL ROLE IN THE REGULATION OF SKIN REGENERATION AND CONTROL AN EXECUTION OF REPARATIVE GENE EXPRESSION PROGRAMS IN BOTH SKIN EPITHELIUM AND MESENCHYME. CRITICAL ISSUES: EPIGENETIC REGULATORS APPEAR TO BE INHERENTLY INVOLVED IN THE PROCESSES OF SKIN REPAIR, AND ARE ABLE TO DYNAMICALLY REGULATE KERATINOCYTE PROLIFERATION, DIFFERENTIATION, AND MIGRATION, TOGETHER WITH INFLUENCING DERMAL REGENERATION AND NEOANGIOGENESIS. THIS IS ACHIEVED THROUGH A SERIES OF COMPLEX REGULATORY MECHANISMS THAT ARE ABLE TO BOTH STIMULATE AND REPRESS GENE ACTIVATION TO TRANSIENTLY ALTER CELLULAR PHENOTYPE AND BEHAVIOR, AND INTERACT WITH GROWTH FACTOR ACTIVITY. FUTURE DIRECTIONS: UNDERSTANDING THE MOLECULAR BASIS OF EPIGENETIC REGULATION IS A PRIORITY AS IT REPRESENTS POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS FOR THE TREATMENT OF BOTH ACUTE AND CHRONIC SKIN CONDITIONS. FUTURE RESEARCH IS, THEREFORE, IMPERATIVE TO HELP DISTINGUISH EPIGENETIC MODULATING DRUGS THAT CAN BE USED TO IMPROVE WOUND HEALING. 2014