1 6196 126 THE IMPACT OF THE TH17:TREG AXIS ON THE IGA-BIOME ACROSS THE GLYCEMIC SPECTRUM. SECRETORY IGA (SIGA) IS RELEASED INTO MUCOSAL SURFACES WHERE ITS FUNCTION EXTENDS BEYOND THAT OF HOST DEFENSE TO INCLUDE THE SHAPING OF RESIDENT MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES BY MEDIATING EXCLUSION/INCLUSION OF RESPECTIVE MICROBES AND REGULATING BACTERIAL GENE EXPRESSION. IN THIS CAPACITY, SIGA ACTS AS THE FULCRUM ON WHICH HOST IMMUNITY AND THE HEALTH OF THE MICROBIOTA ARE BALANCED. WE RECENTLY COMPLETED AN ANALYSIS OF THE GUT AND SALIVARY IGA-BIOMES (16S RDNA SEQUENCING OF SIGA-COATED/UNCOATED BACTERIA) IN MEXICAN-AMERICAN ADULTS THAT IDENTIFIED IGA-BIOME DIFFERENCES ACROSS THE GLYCEMIC SPECTRUM. AS TH17:TREG RATIO IMBALANCES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH GUT MICROBIOME DYSBIOSIS AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY CONDITIONS SUCH AS TYPE 2 DIABETES, THE PRESENT STUDY EXTENDS OUR PRIOR WORK BY EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF TH17:TREG RATIOS (PRO-INFLAMMATORY:ANTI-INFLAMMATORY T-CELL RATIOS) AND THE SIGA RESPONSE (TH17:TREG-SIGA AXIS) IN SHAPING MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES. EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF TH17:TREG RATIOS (DETERMINED BY EPIGENETIC QPCR LYMPHOCYTE SUBSET QUANTIFICATION) ON THE IGA-BIOME ACROSS DIABETES PHENOTYPES IDENTIFIED A PROPORTIONAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TH17:TREG RATIOS AND ALPHA DIVERSITY IN THE STOOL IGA-BIOME OF THOSE WITH DYSGLYCEMIA, SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN COMMUNITY COMPOSITION OF THE STOOL AND SALIVARY MICROBIOMES ACROSS GLYCEMIC PROFILES, AND GENERA PREFERENTIALLY ABUNDANT BY T-CELL INFLAMMATORY PHENOTYPE. THIS IS THE FIRST STUDY TO ASSOCIATE EPIGENETICALLY QUANTIFIED TH17:TREG RATIOS WITH BOTH THE LARGER AND SIGA-FRACTIONATED MICROBIOME, ASSESS THESE ASSOCIATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF A CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASE, AND OFFERS A NOVEL FRAME THROUGH WHICH TO EVALUATE MUCOSAL MICROBIOMES IN THE CONTEXT OF HOST RESPONSES AND INFLAMMATION. 2021 2 6642 29 UNRAVELING THE PATHOGENESIS OF ASTHMA AND CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE OVERLAP: FOCUSING ON EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. ASTHMA AND COPD OVERLAP (ACO) IS CHARACTERIZED BY PATIENTS PRESENTING WITH PERSISTENT AIRFLOW LIMITATION AND FEATURES OF BOTH ASTHMA AND COPD. IT IS ASSOCIATED WITH A HIGHER FREQUENCY AND SEVERITY OF EXACERBATIONS, A FASTER LUNG FUNCTION DECLINE, AND A HIGHER HEALTHCARE COST. SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION IN COPD AND ASTHMA IS DRIVEN BY TYPE 1 T HELPER (TH1) AND TH2 IMMUNE RESPONSES, RESPECTIVELY, BOTH OF WHICH MAY CONTRIBUTE TO AIRWAY REMODELING IN ACO. ACO-RELATED BIOMARKERS CAN BE CLASSIFIED INTO FOUR CATEGORIES: NEUTROPHIL-MEDIATED INFLAMMATION, TH2 CELL RESPONSES, ARACHIDONIC ACID-EICOSANOIDS PATHWAY, AND METABOLITES. GENE-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS ARE KEY CONTRIBUTORS TO THE COMPLEXITY OF ACO AND ARE REGULATED BY EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS, INCLUDING DNA METHYLATION, HISTONE MODIFICATIONS, AND NON-CODING RNAS. THUS, THIS REVIEW FOCUSES ON THE LINK BETWEEN EPIGENETICS AND ACO, AND OUTLINES THE FOLLOWING: (I) INHERITING EPIGENOTYPES WITHOUT CHANGE WITH ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULI, OR EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN RESPONSE TO LONG-TERM EXPOSURE TO INHALED PARTICLES PLUS INTERMITTENT EXPOSURE TO SPECIFIC ALLERGENS; (II) EPIGENETIC MARKERS DISTINGUISHING ACO FROM COPD AND ASTHMA; (III) POTENTIAL EPIGENETIC DRUGS THAT CAN REVERSE OXIDATIVE STRESS, GLUCOCORTICOID INSENSITIVITY, AND CELL INJURY. IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF THE EPIGENETIC REGULATIONS HOLDS GREAT VALUE TO GIVE DEEPER INSIGHT INTO THE MECHANISMS, AND CLARIFY THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH IN ACO. 2022 3 4665 23 NEW INSIGHTS AND ADVANCES IN PATHOGENESIS AND TREATMENT OF VERY EARLY ONSET INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE. VERY EARLY ONSET INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE (VEO-IBD) IS CHARACTERIZED BY MULTIFACTORIAL CHRONIC RECURRENT INTESTINAL INFLAMMATION. COMPARED WITH ELDERLY PATIENTS, THOSE WITH VEO-IBD HAVE A MORE SERIOUS CONDITION, NOT RESPONSIVE TO CONVENTIONAL TREATMENTS, WITH A POOR PROGNOSIS. RECENT STUDIES FOUND THAT GENETIC AND IMMUNOLOGIC ABNORMALITIES ARE CLOSELY RELATED TO VEO-IBD. INTESTINAL IMMUNE HOMEOSTASIS MONOGENIC DEFECTS (IIHMDS) ARE CHANGED THROUGH VARIOUS MECHANISMS. RECENT STUDIES HAVE ALSO REVEALED THAT ABNORMALITIES IN GENES AND IMMUNE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS ARE CLOSELY RELATED TO VEO-IBD. IIHMDS CHANGE THROUGH VARIOUS MECHANISMS. EPIGENETIC FACTORS CAN MEDIATE THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE ENVIRONMENT AND GENOME, AND GENETIC FACTORS AND IMMUNE MOLECULES MAY BE INVOLVED IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND GUT MICROBIOTA. THESE DISCOVERIES WILL PROVIDE NEW DIRECTIONS AND IDEAS FOR THE TREATMENT OF VEO-IBD. 2022 4 3899 20 LATE NEUROLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF ZIKA VIRUS INFECTION: RISK FACTORS AND PHARMACEUTICAL APPROACHES. ZIKA VIRUS (ZIKV) INFECTION WAS HISTORICALLY CONSIDERED A DISEASE WITH MILD SYMPTOMS AND NO MAJOR CONSEQUENCES TO HUMAN HEALTH. HOWEVER, SEVERAL LONG-TERM, LATE ONSET, AND CHRONIC NEUROLOGICAL COMPLICATIONS, BOTH IN CONGENITALLY-EXPOSED BABIES AND IN ADULT PATIENTS, HAVE BEEN REPORTED AFTER ZIKV INFECTION, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE 2015 EPIDEMICS IN THE AMERICAN CONTINENT. THE DEVELOPMENT OR SEVERITY OF THESE CONDITIONS CANNOT BE FULLY PREDICTED, BUT IT IS POSSIBLE THAT GENETIC, EPIGENETIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS MAY CONTRIBUTE TO DETERMINE ZIKV INFECTION OUTCOMES. THIS REINFORCES THE IMPORTANCE THAT INDIVIDUALS EXPOSED TO ZIKV ARE SUBMITTED TO LONG-TERM CLINICAL SURVEILLANCE AND HIGHLIGHTS THE URGENT NEED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES TO REDUCE OR ELIMINATE THE NEUROLOGICAL BURDEN OF INFECTION. HERE, WE REVIEW THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF ZIKV-ASSOCIATED NEUROLOGICAL COMPLICATIONS AND THE ROLE OF FACTORS THAT MAY INFLUENCE DISEASE OUTCOME. MOREOVER, WE DISCUSS EXPERIMENTAL AND CLINICAL EVIDENCE OF DRUGS THAT HAVE SHOWN PROMISING RESULTS IN VITRO OR IN VITRO AGAINST VIRAL REPLICATION AND AND/OR ZIKV-INDUCED NEUROTOXICITY. 2019 5 4012 28 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 6 2568 27 EPIGENETICS OF ALCOHOL-RELATED LIVER DISEASES. ALCOHOL-RELATED LIVER DISEASE (ARLD) IS A PRIMARY CAUSE OF CHRONIC LIVER DISEASE IN THE UNITED STATES. DESPITE ADVANCES IN THE DIAGNOSIS AND MANAGEMENT OF ARLD, IT REMAINS A MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM ASSOCIATED WITH SIGNIFICANT MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY, EMPHASISING THE NEED TO ADOPT NOVEL APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF ARLD AND ITS COMPLICATIONS. EPIGENETIC CHANGES ARE INCREASINGLY BEING RECOGNISED AS CONTRIBUTING TO THE PATHOGENESIS OF MULTIPLE DISEASE STATES. HARNESSING THE POWER OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE STUDY OF EPIGENETICS (E.G., NEXT-GENERATION SEQUENCING, DNA METHYLATION ASSAYS, HISTONE MODIFICATION PROFILING AND COMPUTATIONAL TECHNIQUES LIKE MACHINE LEARNING) HAS RESULTED IN A SEISMIC SHIFT IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF ARLD. KNOWLEDGE OF THESE TECHNIQUES AND ADVANCES IS OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE FOR THE PRACTICING HEPATOLOGIST AND RESEARCHERS ALIKE. ACCORDINGLY, IN THIS REVIEW ARTICLE WE WILL SUMMARISE THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ALCOHOL-INDUCED EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF ARLD, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DNA HYPER/HYPO METHYLATION, HISTONE MODIFICATIONS, CHANGES IN NON-CODING RNA, 3D CHROMATIN ARCHITECTURE AND ENHANCER-PROMOTER INTERACTIONS. ADDITIONALLY, WE WILL DISCUSS THE STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNIQUES USED IN THE STUDY OF ARLD (E.G. SINGLE-CELL SEQUENCING). WE WILL ALSO HIGHLIGHT THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF CHEMOKINES AND THEIR PROINFLAMMATORY ROLE IN THE CONTEXT OF ARLD. LASTLY, WE WILL EXAMINE THE CLINICAL APPLICATIONS OF EPIGENETICS IN THE DIAGNOSIS AND MANAGEMENT OF ARLD. 2022 7 6334 22 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 8 5153 26 PPP2R2B HYPERMETHYLATION CAUSES ACQUIRED APOPTOSIS DEFICIENCY IN SYSTEMIC AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES. CHRONIC INFLAMMATION CAUSES TARGET ORGAN DAMAGE IN PATIENTS WITH SYSTEMIC AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES. THE FACTORS THAT ALLOW THIS PROTRACTED RESPONSE ARE POORLY UNDERSTOOD. WE ANALYZED THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION OF PPP2R2B (B55SS), A MOLECULE NECESSARY FOR THE TERMINATION OF THE IMMUNE RESPONSE, IN PATIENTS WITH AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES. ALTERED EXPRESSION OF B55SS CONDITIONED RESISTANCE TO CYTOKINE WITHDRAWAL-INDUCED DEATH (CWID) IN PATIENTS WITH AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES. THE IMPAIRED UPREGULATION OF B55SS WAS CAUSED BY INFLAMMATION-DRIVEN HYPERMETHYLATION OF SPECIFIC CYTOSINES LOCATED WITHIN A REGULATORY ELEMENT OF PPP2R2B PREVENTING CTCF BINDING. THIS PHENOTYPE COULD BE INDUCED IN HEALTHY T CELLS BY EXPOSURE TO TNF-ALPHA. OUR RESULTS REVEAL A GENE WHOSE EXPRESSION IS AFFECTED BY AN ACQUIRED DEFECT, THROUGH AN EPIGENETIC MECHANISM, IN THE SETTING OF SYSTEMIC AUTOIMMUNITY. BECAUSE FAILURE TO REMOVE ACTIVATED T CELLS THROUGH CWID COULD CONTRIBUTE TO AUTOIMMUNE PATHOLOGY, THIS MECHANISM ILLUSTRATES A VICIOUS CYCLE THROUGH WHICH AUTOIMMUNE INFLAMMATION CONTRIBUTES TO ITS OWN PERPETUATION. 2019 9 5213 23 PRESYMPTOMATIC RISK ASSESSMENT FOR CHRONIC NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES. THE PREVALENCE OF COMMON CHRONIC NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES (CNCDS) FAR OVERSHADOWS THE PREVALENCE OF BOTH MONOGENIC AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES COMBINED. ALL CNCDS, ALSO CALLED COMPLEX GENETIC DISEASES, HAVE A HERITABLE GENETIC COMPONENT THAT CAN BE USED FOR PRE-SYMPTOMATIC RISK ASSESSMENT. COMMON SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISMS (SNPS) THAT TAG RISK HAPLOTYPES ACROSS THE GENOME CURRENTLY ACCOUNT FOR A NON-TRIVIAL PORTION OF THE GERM-LINE GENETIC RISK AND WE WILL LIKELY CONTINUE TO IDENTIFY THE REMAINING MISSING HERITABILITY IN THE FORM OF RARE VARIANTS, COPY NUMBER VARIANTS AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS. HERE, WE DESCRIBE A NOVEL MEASURE FOR CALCULATING THE LIFETIME RISK OF A DISEASE, CALLED THE GENETIC COMPOSITE INDEX (GCI), AND DEMONSTRATE ITS PREDICTIVE VALUE AS A CLINICAL CLASSIFIER. THE GCI ONLY CONSIDERS SUMMARY STATISTICS OF THE EFFECTS OF GENETIC VARIATION AND HENCE DOES NOT REQUIRE THE RESULTS OF LARGE-SCALE STUDIES SIMULTANEOUSLY ASSESSING MULTIPLE RISK FACTORS. COMBINING GCI SCORES WITH ENVIRONMENTAL RISK INFORMATION PROVIDES AN ADDITIONAL TOOL FOR CLINICAL DECISION-MAKING. THE GCI CAN BE POPULATED WITH HERITABLE RISK INFORMATION OF ANY TYPE, AND THUS REPRESENTS A FRAMEWORK FOR CNCD PRE-SYMPTOMATIC RISK ASSESSMENT THAT CAN BE POPULATED AS ADDITIONAL RISK INFORMATION IS IDENTIFIED THROUGH NEXT-GENERATION TECHNOLOGIES. 2010 10 6911 20 [TWO GERMAN BIRTH COHORTS: GINIPLUS AND LISAPLUS]. NUMEROUS CHRONIC DISEASES IN CHILDHOOD AND ADULTHOOD HAVE THEIR ORIGINS IN PERINATAL LIFE AND ARE POTENTIALLY INFLUENCED BY TRANS-GENERATIONAL EPIGENETIC PROCESSES. THEREFORE, PROSPECTIVE BIRTH COHORTS CAN SUBSTANTIALLY CONTRIBUTE TO OUR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE ETIOLOGY OF DISEASES INCLUDING MODIFIABLE RISK FACTORS. THE TWO POPULATION-BASED GERMAN BIRTH COHORTS GINIPLUS AND LISAPLUS AIM TO DESCRIBE THE NATURAL COURSE OF CHRONIC DISEASES AND INTERMEDIATE PHENOTYPES IN CHILDHOOD AND ITS DETERMINANTS, AND TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL GENETIC EFFECT MODIFICATIONS. IN THE MID-1990S, 5,991 (GINIPLUS) AND 3,097 (LISAPLUS) HEALTHY, TERM NEWBORNS WERE RECRUITED FOR LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP IN FOUR REGIONS OF GERMANY. THE FOLLOW-UP RATE FOR THE FIRST 10 YEARS WAS ABOUT 55%. WE ANALYZED THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF OVERWEIGHT, INFECTIONS AND ALLERGIC DISEASES, MENTAL AND ORAL HEALTH, METABOLIC AND INFLAMMATORY PARAMETERS AND THE ROLE OF POTENTIAL RISK FACTORS INCLUDING GENETICS. THE RESULTS OF THESE TWO BIRTH COHORTS SUBSTANTIALLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE NATURAL COURSE OF THESE HEALTH PARAMETERS. THESE DATA WERE INCLUDED IN MANY INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS AND CONSORTIA FOR PURPOSES OF INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS OF PREVALENCE AND CONSISTENCY OF FINDINGS, AND TO INCREASE THE POWER OF THE ANALYSES. 2012 11 6398 28 THE ROLE OF VITAMIN D AND VDR IN CARCINOGENESIS: THROUGH EPIDEMIOLOGY AND BASIC SCIENCES. IN THE LAST TWO DECADES VITAMIN D (VD) RESEARCH HAS DEMONSTRATED NEW EXTRASKELETAL ACTIONS OF THIS PRE-HORMONE, SUGGESTING A PROTECTIVE ROLE OF THIS SECOSTEROID IN THE ONSET, PROGRESSION AND PROGNOSIS OF SEVERAL CHRONIC NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES, SUCH AS CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, DIABETES MELLITUS OR CANCER. REGARDING CARCINOGENESIS, BOTH PRECLINICAL AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE AVAILABLE SHOW ONCOPROTECTIVE ACTIONS OF VD AND ITS RECEPTOR, THE VDR. HOWEVER, IN LATE NEOPLASTIC STAGES THE VD SYSTEM (VDS) SEEMS TO BE LESS FUNCTIONAL, WHICH APPEARS TO BE DUE TO AN EPIGENETIC SILENCING OF THE SYSTEM. IN PRECLINICAL EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES, VD PRESENTS ONCOPROTECTIVE ACTIONS THROUGH MODULATION OF INFLAMMATION, CELL PROLIFERATION, CELL DIFFERENTIATION, ANGIOGENESIS, INVASIVE AND METASTATIC POTENTIAL, APOPTOSIS, MIRNA EXPRESSION REGULATION AND MODULATION OF THE HEDGEHOG SIGNALLING PATHWAY. MOREOVER, EPIDEMIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE POINTS TOWARDS AN ONCOPROTECTIVE ROLE OF VITAMIN D AND VDR IN COLORECTAL CANCER. THIS ASSOCIATION IS MORE CONTROVERSIAL WITH BREAST, OVARIAN AND PROSTATE CANCERS, ALTHOUGH WITH A FEW ADVERSE EFFECTS. NONETHELESS, WE SHOULD CONSIDER OTHER FACTORS TO DETERMINE THE BENEFIT OF INCREASED SERUM CONCENTRATION OF VD. MUCH OF THE EPIDEMIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE IS STILL INCONCLUSIVE, AND WE WILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR NEW, BETTER-DESIGNED ONGOING RCTS AND THEIR RESULTS TO DISCERN THE REAL EFFECT OF VITAMIN D IN CANCER RISK REDUCTION AND THERAPY. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS LITERATURE REVIEW IS TO OFFER AN UP-TO-DATE ANALYSIS OF THE ROLE OF THE VD AND VDR, IN THE ONSET, PROGRESSION AND PROGNOSIS OF ALL TYPES OF CANCER. WE FURTHER DISCUSS THE AVAILABLE LITERATURE AND SUGGEST NEW HYPOTHESES AND FUTURE CHALLENGES IN THE FIELD OF VD RESEARCH. 2017 12 2616 23 EPIGENOME MODULATION INDUCED BY KETOGENIC DIETS. KETOGENIC DIETS (KD) ARE DIETARY STRATEGIES LOW IN CARBOHYDRATES, NORMAL IN PROTEIN, AND HIGH, NORMAL, OR REDUCED IN FAT WITH OR WITHOUT (VERY LOW-CALORIES KETOGENIC DIET, VLCKD) A REDUCED CALORIC INTAKE. KDS HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO BE USEFUL IN THE TREATMENT OF OBESITY, METABOLIC DISEASES AND RELATED DISORDERS, NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES, AND VARIOUS PATHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS SUCH AS CANCER, NONALCOHOLIC LIVER DISEASE, AND CHRONIC PAIN. SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE INVESTIGATED THE INTRACELLULAR METABOLIC PATHWAYS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF THESE DIETS. ALTHOUGH EPIGENETIC CHANGES ARE AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT DETERMINANTS OF AN ORGANISM'S ABILITY TO ADAPT TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES, DATA ON THE EPIGENETIC CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH THESE DIETARY PATHWAYS ARE STILL LIMITED. THIS REVIEW PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF THE MAJOR EPIGENETIC CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH KDS. 2022 13 5464 29 RESILIENCE IN LONG-TERM VIRAL INFECTION: GENETIC DETERMINANTS AND INTERACTIONS. VIRUS-INDUCED NEUROLOGICAL SEQUELAE RESULTING FROM INFECTION BY THEILER'S MURINE ENCEPHALOMYELITIS VIRUS (TMEV) ARE USED FOR STUDYING HUMAN CONDITIONS RANGING FROM EPILEPTIC SEIZURES TO DEMYELINATING DISEASE. MOUSE STRAINS ARE TYPICALLY CONSIDERED SUSCEPTIBLE OR RESISTANT TO TMEV INFECTION BASED ON VIRAL PERSISTENCE AND EXTREME PHENOTYPES, SUCH AS DEMYELINATION. WE HAVE IDENTIFIED A BROADER SPECTRUM OF PHENOTYPIC OUTCOMES BY INFECTING STRAINS OF THE GENETICALLY DIVERSE COLLABORATIVE CROSS (CC) MOUSE RESOURCE. WE EVALUATED THE CHRONIC-INFECTION GENE EXPRESSION PROFILES OF HIPPOCAMPI AND THORACIC SPINAL CORDS FOR 19 CC STRAINS IN RELATION TO PHENOTYPIC SEVERITY AND TMEV PERSISTENCE. STRAINS WERE CLUSTERED BASED ON SIMILAR PHENOTYPIC PROFILES AND TMEV LEVELS AT 90 DAYS POST-INFECTION, AND WE CATEGORIZED DISTINCT TMEV RESPONSE PROFILES. THE THREE MOST COMMON PROFILES INCLUDED "RESISTANT" AND "SUSCEPTIBLE," AS BEFORE, AS WELL AS A "RESILIENT" TMEV RESPONSE GROUP WHICH EXPERIENCED BOTH TMEV PERSISTENCE AND MILD NEUROLOGICAL PHENOTYPES EVEN AT 90 DAYS POST-INFECTION. EACH PROFILE HAD A DISTINCT GENE EXPRESSION SIGNATURE, ALLOWING THE IDENTIFICATION OF PATHWAYS AND NETWORKS SPECIFIC TO EACH TMEV RESPONSE GROUP. CC FOUNDER HAPLOTYPES FOR GENES INVOLVED IN THESE PATHWAYS/NETWORKS REVEALED CANDIDATE RESPONSE-SPECIFIC ALLELES. THESE ALLELES DEMONSTRATED PLEIOTROPY AND EPIGENETIC (MIRNA) REGULATION IN LONG-TERM TMEV INFECTION, WITH PARTICULAR RELEVANCE FOR RESILIENT MOUSE STRAINS. 2021 14 2533 24 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 15 4834 35 ON THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN THE MEDICINE OF HILDEGARD OF BINGEN AND MODERN MEDICINE: THE ROLE OF ESTROGEN RECEPTOR AS AN EXAMPLE OF BIODYNAMIC INTERFACE FOR STUDYING THE CHRONIC DISEASE'S COMPLEXITY. INTRODUCTION: HILDEGARD OF BINGEN (1098-1179) INTERPRETED THE ORIGINS OF CHRONIC DISEASE HIGHLIGHTING AND ANTICIPATING, ALTHOUGH ONLY IN A LIMITED FASHION, THE IMPORTANCE THAT COMPLEX INTERACTIONS AMONG NUMEROUS GENETIC, INTERNAL MILIEU AND EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS HAVE IN DETERMINING THE DISEASE PHENOTYPE. TODAY, WE RECOGNIZE THOSE FACTORS, CAPABLE OF MEDIATING THE TRANSMISSION OF MESSAGES BETWEEN HUMAN BODY AND ENVIRONMENT AND VICE VERSA, AS BIODYNAMIC INTERFACES. AIM: WE ANALYZED, IN THE LIGHT OF MODERN SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE, HILDEGARD OF BINGEN'S MEDICAL APPROACH AND HER ORIGINAL HUMORAL THEORY IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY POSSIBLE INSIGHTS INCLUDED IN HER MEDICINE THAT COULD BE REFERRED TO IN THE CONTEXT OF MODERN EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE. IN PARTICULAR, THE ABBESS'S HUMORAL THEORY SUGGESTS THE IDENTIFICATION OF BIODYNAMIC INTERFACES WITH SEX HORMONES AND THEIR RECEPTORS. FINDINGS: WE FOUND THAT THE HILDEGARDIAN HOLISTIC VISION OF THE ORGANISM-ENVIRONMENT RELATIONSHIP CAN ACTUALLY REPRESENT A VISIONARY APPROACH TO MODERN ENDOCRINOLOGY AND THAT SEX HORMONES, IN PARTICULAR ESTROGENS, COULD REPRESENT AN EXAMPLE OF A BIODYNAMIC INTERFACE. ESTROGEN RECEPTORS ARE FOUND IN REGIONS OF THE BRAIN INVOLVED IN EMOTIONAL AND COGNITIVE REGULATION, CONTROLLING THE MOLECULAR MECHANISM OF BRAIN FUNCTION. ESTROGEN RECEPTORS ARE INVOLVED IN THE REGULATION OF THE HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL AXIS AND IN THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF RESPONSES TO PHYSIOLOGICAL, SOCIAL, AND HORMONAL STIMULI. FURTHERMORE, ESTROGEN AFFECTS GENE METHYLATION ON ITS OWN AND RELATED RECEPTOR PROMOTERS IN DISCRETE REGIONS OF THE DEVELOPING BRAIN. THIS SCENARIO WAS STRIKINGLY PERCEIVED BY THE ABBESS IN THE XIITH CENTURY, AND DEPICTED AS A COMPLEX INTERPLAY AMONG DIFFERENT HUMORS AND FLEGMATA THAT SHE RECOGNIZED TO BE SEX SPECIFIC AND ENVIRONMENTALLY REGULATED. VIEWPOINT: CONSIDERING THE FUNCTION PLAYED BY HORMONES, ANALYZED THROUGH THE LAST SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE, AND SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE ON BIODYNAMIC INTERFACES, WE COULD SUGGEST HILDEGARDIAN INSIGHTS AND THEORIES AS THE FIRST ATTEMPT TO DESCRIBE THE MODERN HOLISTIC, SEX-BASED MEDICINE. CONCLUSION: HILDEGARD ANTICIPATED A CONCEPT OF PATHOGENESIS THAT SEES A CENTRAL ROLE FOR ENDOCRINOLOGY IN SEX-SPECIFIC DISEASE. FURTHERMORE, ESTROGENS AND ESTROGEN RECEPTORS COULD REPRESENT A GOOD EXAMPLE OF MOLECULAR INTERFACES CAPABLE OF MODULATING THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE ORGANISM INTERNAL MILIEU AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS. 2022 16 3152 25 GLUCOSE VARIABILITY: HOW DOES IT WORK? A GROWING BODY OF EVIDENCE POINTS TO THE ROLE OF GLUCOSE VARIABILITY (GV) IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MICROVASCULAR AND MACROVASCULAR COMPLICATIONS OF DIABETES. IN THIS REVIEW, WE SUMMARIZE DATA ON GV-INDUCED BIOCHEMICAL, CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR EVENTS INVOLVED IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF DIABETIC COMPLICATIONS. CURRENT DATA INDICATE THAT THE DETERIORATING EFFECT OF GV ON TARGET ORGANS CAN BE REALIZED THROUGH OXIDATIVE STRESS, GLYCATION, CHRONIC LOW-GRADE INFLAMMATION, ENDOTHELIAL DYSFUNCTION, PLATELET ACTIVATION, IMPAIRED ANGIOGENESIS AND RENAL FIBROSIS. THE EFFECTS OF GV ON OXIDATIVE STRESS, INFLAMMATION, ENDOTHELIAL DYSFUNCTION AND HYPERCOAGULABILITY COULD BE AGGRAVATED BY HYPOGLYCEMIA, ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH GV. OSCILLATING HYPERGLYCEMIA CONTRIBUTES TO BETA CELL DYSFUNCTION, WHICH LEADS TO A FURTHER INCREASE IN GV AND COMPLETES THE VICIOUS CIRCLE. IN CELLS, THE GV-INDUCED CYTOTOXIC EFFECT INCLUDES MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION, ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM STRESS AND DISTURBANCES IN AUTOPHAGIC FLUX, WHICH ARE ACCOMPANIED BY REDUCED VIABILITY, ACTIVATION OF APOPTOSIS AND ABNORMALITIES IN CELL PROLIFERATION. THESE EFFECTS ARE REALIZED THROUGH THE UP- AND DOWN-REGULATION OF A LARGE NUMBER OF GENES AND THE ACTIVITY OF SIGNALING PATHWAYS SUCH AS PI3K/AKT, NF-KAPPAB, MAPK (ERK), JNK AND TGF-BETA/SMAD. EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS MEDIATE THE POSTPONED EFFECTS OF GLUCOSE FLUCTUATIONS. THE MULTIPLE DETERIORATIVE EFFECTS OF GV PROVIDE FURTHER SUPPORT FOR CONSIDERING IT AS A THERAPEUTIC TARGET IN DIABETES. 2021 17 3648 38 INCREASED RELATIVE ABUNDANCE OF RUMINOCCOCUS IS ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCED CARDIOVASCULAR RISK IN AN OBESE POPULATION. BACKGROUND: OBESITY IS A COMPLEX DISEASE WITH UNDERLYING GENETIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, PHYSIOLOGICAL, MEDICAL, AND EPIGENETIC FACTORS. OBESITY CAN CAUSE VARIOUS DISORDERS, INCLUDING CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES (CVDS), THAT ARE AMONG THE MOST PREVALENT CHRONIC CONDITIONS IN QATAR. RECENT STUDIES HAVE HIGHLIGHTED THE SIGNIFICANT ROLES OF THE GUT MICROBIOME IN IMPROVING THE PATHOLOGY OF VARIOUS DISEASES, INCLUDING OBESITY. THUS, IN THIS STUDY, WE AIMED TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF DIETARY INTAKE AND GUT MICROBIAL COMPOSITION IN MODULATING THE RISK OF CVD DEVELOPMENT IN OBESE QATARI ADULTS. METHODS: WE ENROLLED 46 ADULT SUBJECTS (18-65 YEARS OF AGE) WHO WERE CLASSIFIED BASED ON THEIR CVD RISK SCORES, CALCULATED USING THE FRAMINGHAM FORMULA, INTO A CVD NO-RISK GROUP (SCORE OF <10%, N = 36) AND CVD RISK GROUP (SCORE OF >/=10%, N = 10). FOR EACH STUDY SUBJECT, WE MEASURED THE GUT MICROBIAL COMPOSITION WITH A 16S RDNA SEQUENCING METHOD THAT TARGETED THE V3-V4 REGION USING ILLUMINA MISEQ, AND THEIR NUTRITIONAL STATUS WAS RECORDED BASED ON 24-H DIETARY RECALL. DIETARY INTAKE, BACTERIAL TAXA SUMMARY, DIVERSITY INDEX, MICROBIAL MARKERS, PATHWAY ANALYSIS, AND NETWORK CORRELATION WERE DETERMINED FOR THE STUDY SUBJECTS. RESULTS: THE CVD RISK GROUP SHOWED A LOWER INTAKE OF VITAMIN D, REDUCED RELATIVE ABUNDANCE OF GENERA RUMINOCOCCUS AND BIFIDOBACTERIUM, NO CHANGE IN BACTERIAL DIVERSITY, AND HIGHER LEVELS OF TAURINE, HYPOTAURINE, AND LIPOIC ACID METABOLISM THAN THE CVD NO-RISK GROUP. BESIDES, THE RELATIVE ABUNDANCE OF GENUS RUMINOCOCCUS WAS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH THE INTAKE OF PROTEIN, MONOUNSATURATED FAT, VITAMIN A, AND VITAMIN D. CONCLUSION: TAKEN TOGETHER, OUR RESULTS SUGGEST THAT THE GENUS RUMINOCOCCUS COULD BE USED AS A MICROBIAL MARKER, AND ITS REDUCED RELATIVE ABUNDANCE COULD MEDIATE THE RISK OF CVDS IN THE OBESE QATARI POPULATION. 2022 18 6584 23 TRIGGERING RECEPTORS EXPRESSED ON MYELOID CELLS 1 : OUR NEW PARTNER IN HUMAN ONCOLOGY? INFLAMMATION IS RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF THE HALLMARKS OF CANCER. INDEED, STRONG EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT CHRONIC INFLAMMATION PLAYS A MAJOR ROLE IN ONCOGENESIS, PROMOTING GENOME INSTABILITY, EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS, PROLIFERATION AND DISSEMINATION OF CANCER CELLS. MONONUCLEAR PHAGOCYTES (MPS) HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS KEY CONTRIBUTORS OF THE INFLAMMATORY INFILTRATE IN SEVERAL SOLID HUMAN NEOPLASIA, PROMOTING ANGIOGENESIS AND CANCER PROGRESSION. ONE OF THE MOST DESCRIBED AMPLIFIERS OF MPS PRO-INFLAMMATORY INNATE IMMUNE RESPONSE IS THE TRIGGERING RECEPTORS EXPRESSED ON MYELOID CELLS 1 (TREM-1). GROWING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS TREM-1 INVOLVEMENT IN ONCOGENESIS THROUGH CANCER RELATED INFLAMMATION AND THE SURROUNDING TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT. IN HUMAN ONCOLOGY, HIGH LEVELS OF TREM-1 AND/OR ITS SOLUBLE FORM HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH POORER SURVIVAL DATA IN SEVERAL SOLID MALIGNANCIES, ESPECIALLY IN HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA AND LUNG CANCER. TREM-1 SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS A POTENTIAL BIOMARKER IN HUMAN ONCOLOGY AND COULD BE USED AS A NEW THERAPEUTIC TARGET OF INTEREST IN HUMAN ONCOLOGY (TREM-1 INHIBITORS, TREM-1 AGONISTS). MORE CLINICAL STUDIES ARE URGENTLY NEEDED TO CONFIRM TREM-1 (AND TREM FAMILY) ROLES IN THE PROGNOSIS AND THE TREATMENT OF HUMAN SOLID CANCERS. 2022 19 4736 30 NOVEL EPIGENETIC BIOMARKERS MEDIATING BISPHENOL A EXPOSURE AND METABOLIC PHENOTYPES IN FEMALE MICE. THERE IS COMPELLING EVIDENCE THAT EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS LINK DEVELOPMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL INSULTS TO ADULT DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY. ANIMAL STUDIES HAVE ASSOCIATED PERINATAL BISPHENOL A (BPA) EXPOSURE TO ALTERED DNA METHYLATION, BUT THESE STUDIES ARE OFTEN LIMITED TO CANDIDATE GENE AND GLOBAL NON-LOCI-SPECIFIC APPROACHES. BY USING AN EPIGENOME-WIDE DISCOVERY PLATFORM, WE ELUCIDATED EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS IN LIVER TISSUE FROM ADULT MICE OFFSPRING (10 MONTHS) FOLLOWING PERINATAL BPA EXPOSURE AT HUMAN PHYSIOLOGICALLY RELEVANT DOSES (50-NG, 50-MUG, AND 50-MG BPA/KG DIET). BIOLOGICAL PATHWAY ANALYSIS IDENTIFIED AN ENRICHMENT OF SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENTIALLY METHYLATED REGIONS IN METABOLIC PATHWAYS AMONG FEMALES. FURTHERMORE, THROUGH THE USE OF TOP ENRICHED BIOLOGICAL PATHWAYS, 4 CANDIDATE GENES WERE CHOSEN TO ASSESS DNA METHYLATION AS A MEDIATING FACTOR LINKING THE ASSOCIATION OF PERINATAL BPA EXPOSURE TO METABOLIC PHENOTYPES PREVIOUSLY OBSERVED IN FEMALE OFFSPRING. DNA METHYLATION STATUS AT JANUS KINASE-2 (JAK-2), RETINOID X RECEPTOR (RXR), REGULATORY FACTOR X-ASSOCIATED PROTEIN (RFXAP), AND TRANSMEMBRANE PROTEIN 238 (TMEM238) WAS USED WITHIN A MEDIATIONAL REGRESSION ANALYSIS. DNA METHYLATION IN ALL FOUR OF THE CANDIDATE GENES WAS IDENTIFIED AS A MEDIATOR IN THE MECHANISTIC PATHWAY OF DEVELOPMENTAL BPA EXPOSURE AND FEMALE-SPECIFIC ENERGY EXPENDITURE, BODY WEIGHT, AND BODY FAT PHENOTYPES. DATA GENERATED FROM THIS STUDY ARE CRUCIAL FOR DECIPHERING THE MECHANISTIC ROLE OF EPIGENETICS IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF CHRONIC DISEASE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF EPIGENETIC-BASED PREVENTION AND THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES FOR COMPLEX HUMAN DISEASE. 2017 20 2597 26 EPIGENETICS OF SUBCELLULAR STRUCTURE FUNCTIONING IN THE ORIGIN OF RISK OR RESILIENCE TO COMORBIDITY OF NEUROPSYCHIATRIC AND CARDIOMETABOLIC DISORDERS. MECHANISMS CONTROLLING MITOCHONDRIAL FUNCTION, PROTEIN FOLDING IN THE ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM (ER) AND NUCLEAR PROCESSES SUCH AS TELOMERE LENGTH AND DNA REPAIR MAY BE SUBJECT TO EPIGENETIC CUES THAT RELATE THE GENOMIC EXPRESSION AND ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES IN EARLY STAGES OF LIFE. THEY MAY ALSO BE INVOLVED IN THE COMORBID APPEARANCE OF CARDIOMETABOLIC (CMD) AND NEUROPSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS (NPD) DURING ADULTHOOD. MITOCHONDRIAL FUNCTION AND PROTEIN FOLDING IN THE ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM ARE ASSOCIATED WITH OXIDATIVE STRESS AND ELEVATED INTRACELLULAR CALCIUM LEVELS AND MAY ALSO UNDERLIE THE VULNERABILITY FOR COMORBID CMD AND NPD. MITOCHONDRIA PROVIDE KEY METABOLITES SUCH AS NICOTINAMIDE ADENINE DINUCLEOTIDE (NAD+), ATP, ALPHA-KETOGLUTARATE AND ACETYL COENZYME A THAT ARE REQUIRED FOR MANY TRANSCRIPTIONAL AND EPIGENETIC PROCESSES. THEY ARE ALSO A SOURCE OF FREE RADICALS. ON THE OTHER HAND, EPIGENETIC MARKERS IN NUCLEAR DNA DETERMINE MITOCHONDRIAL BIOGENESIS. THE ER IS THE SUBCELLULAR ORGANELLE IN WHICH SECRETORY PROTEINS ARE FOLDED. MANY ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS STOP THE ABILITY OF CELLS TO PROPERLY FOLD PROTEINS AND MODIFY POST-TRANSLATIONALLY SECRETORY AND TRANSMEMBRANE PROTEINS LEADING TO ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM STRESS AND OXIDATIVE STRESS. ER FUNCTIONING MAY BE EPIGENETICALLY DETERMINED. CHRONIC ER STRESS IS EMERGING AS A KEY CONTRIBUTOR TO A GROWING LIST OF HUMAN DISEASES, INCLUDING CMD AND NPD. TELOMERE LOSS CAUSES CHROMOSOMAL FUSION, ACTIVATION OF THE CONTROL OF DNA DAMAGE-RESPONSES, UNSTABLE GENOME AND ALTERED STEM CELL FUNCTION, WHICH MAY UNDERLIE THE COMORBIDITY OF CMD AND NPD. THE LENGTH OF TELOMERES IS RELATED TO OXIDATIVE STRESS AND MAY BE EPIGENETICALLY PROGRAMMED. PATHWAYS INVOLVED IN DNA REPAIR MAY BE EPIGENETICALLY PROGRAMMED AND MAY CONTRIBUTE TO DISEASES. IN THIS PAPER, WE DESCRIBE SUBCELLULAR MECHANISMS THAT ARE DETERMINED BY EPIGENETIC MARKERS AND THEIR POSSIBLE RELATION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF INCREASED SUSCEPTIBILITY TO DEVELOP CMD AND NPD. 2018