1 6656 136 UPDATED UNDERSTANDING OF CANCER AS A METABOLIC AND TELOMERE-DRIVEN DISEASE, AND PROPOSAL FOR COMPLEX PERSONALIZED TREATMENT, A HYPOTHESIS. IN THIS REVIEW, WE PROPOSE A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING CANCER AS A METABOLIC DISEASE. OUR SEARCH FOR RELEVANT STUDIES IN MEDICAL DATABASES CONCLUDES THAT CANCER CELLS DO NOT EVOLVE DIRECTLY FROM NORMAL HEALTHY CELLS. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT ABERRANT DNA DAMAGE ACCUMULATES OVER TIME-AVOIDING THE NATURAL DNA CONTROLS THAT OTHERWISE REPAIR OR REPLACE THE RAPIDLY REPLICATING CELLS. DNA DAMAGE STARTS TO ACCUMULATE IN NON-REPLICATING CELLS, LEADING TO SENESCENCE AND AGING. DNA DAMAGE IS LINKED WITH GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC FACTORS, BUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF CANCER IS FAVORED BY TELOMERASE ACTIVITY. EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT TELOMERE LENGTH IS AFFECTED BY CHRONIC INFLAMMATIONS, ALTERATIONS OF MITOCHONDRIAL DNA, AND VARIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS. EMOTIONAL STRESS ALSO INFLUENCES TELOMERE LENGTH. CHRONIC INFLAMMATION CAN CAUSE OXIDATIVE DNA DAMAGE. OXIDATIVE STRESS, IN TURN, CAN TRIGGER MITOCHONDRIAL CHANGES, WHICH ULTIMATELY ALTER NUCLEAR GENE EXPRESSION. THIS VICIOUS CYCLE HAS LED SEVERAL SCIENTISTS TO VIEW CANCER AS A METABOLIC DISEASE. WE HAVE PROPOSED COMPLEX PERSONALIZED TREATMENTS THAT SEEK TO CORRECT MULTIPLE CHANGES SIMULTANEOUSLY USING A PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH TO REDUCE CHRONIC STRESS, IMMUNE CHECKPOINT THERAPY WITH REDUCED DOSES OF CHEMO AND RADIOTHERAPY, MINIMAL SURGICAL INTERVENTION, IF ANY, AND MITOCHONDRIAL METABOLIC REPROGRAMMING PROTOCOLS SUPPLEMENTED BY INTERMITTENT FASTING AND PERSONALIZED DIETARY PLANS WITHOUT INTERFERING WITH THE OTHER THERAPIES. 2020 2 6034 33 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 1112 35 COMMON PATHOGENETIC MECHANISMS UNDERLYING AGING AND TUMOR AND MEANS OF INTERVENTIONS. RECENTLY, THERE HAS BEEN AN INCREASE IN THE INCIDENCE OF MALIGNANT TUMORS AMONG THE OLDER POPULATION. MOREOVER, THERE IS AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN AGING AND CANCER. DURING THE PROCESS OF SENESCENCE, THE HUMAN BODY SUFFERS FROM A SERIES OF IMBALANCES, WHICH HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO FURTHER ACCELERATE AGING, TRIGGER TUMORIGENESIS, AND FACILITATE CANCER PROGRESSION. THEREFORE, EXPLORING THE JUNCTIONS OF AGING AND CANCER AND SEARCHING FOR NOVEL METHODS TO RESTORE THE JUNCTIONS IS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE TO INTERVENE AGAINST AGING-RELATED CANCERS. IN THIS REVIEW, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED THE UNDERLYING PATHOGENETIC MECHANISMS OF AGING-RELATED CANCERS BY COMPARING ALTERATIONS IN THE HUMAN BODY CAUSED BY AGING AND THE FACTORS THAT TRIGGER CANCERS. WE FOUND THAT THE COMMON MECHANISMS OF AGING AND CANCER INCLUDE CELLULAR SENESCENCE, ALTERATIONS IN PROTEOSTASIS, MICROBIOTA DISORDERS (DECREASED PROBIOTICS AND INCREASED PERNICIOUS BACTERIA), PERSISTENT CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, EXTENSIVE IMMUNOSENESCENCE, INORDINATE ENERGY METABOLISM, ALTERED MATERIAL METABOLISM, ENDOCRINE DISORDERS, ALTERED GENETIC EXPRESSION, AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION. FURTHERMORE, WE HAVE PROPOSED THAT AGING AND CANCER HAVE COMMON MEANS OF INTERVENTION, INCLUDING NOVEL USES OF COMMON MEDICINE (METFORMIN, RESVERATROL, AND RAPAMYCIN), DIETARY RESTRICTION, AND ARTIFICIAL MICROBIOTA INTERVENTION OR SELECTIVELY REPLENISHING SCARCE METABOLITES. IN ADDITION, WE HAVE SUMMARIZED THE RESEARCH PROGRESS OF EACH INTERVENTION AND REVEALED THEIR BIDIRECTIONAL EFFECTS ON CANCER PROGRESSION TO COMPARE THEIR RELIABILITY AND FEASIBILITY. THEREFORE, THE STUDY FINDINGS PROVIDE VITAL INFORMATION FOR ADVANCED RESEARCH STUDIES ON AGE-RELATED CANCERS. HOWEVER, THERE IS A NEED FOR FURTHER OPTIMIZATION OF THE DESCRIBED METHODS AND MORE SUITABLE METHODS FOR COMPLICATED CLINICAL PRACTICES. IN CONCLUSION, TARGETING AGING MAY HAVE POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS ON AGING-RELATED CANCERS. 2022 4 4273 34 MICROBIOTA AND EPIGENETICS: HEALTH IMPACT. EPIGENETIC CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH DISEASE DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESSIONS ARE OF INCREASING IMPORTANCE BECAUSE OF THEIR POTENTIAL DIAGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS. SEVERAL EPIGENETIC CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC METABOLIC DISORDERS HAVE BEEN STUDIED IN VARIOUS DISEASES. EPIGENETIC CHANGES ARE MOSTLY MODULATED BY ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, INCLUDING THE HUMAN MICROBIOTA LIVING IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF OUR BODIES. THE MICROBIAL STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS AND THE MICROBIALLY DERIVED METABOLITES DIRECTLY INTERACT WITH HOST CELLS, THEREBY MAINTAINING HOMEOSTASIS. MICROBIOME DYSBIOSIS, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS KNOWN TO PRODUCE ELEVATED LEVELS OF DISEASE-LINKED METABOLITES, WHICH MAY DIRECTLY AFFECT A HOST METABOLIC PATHWAY OR INDUCE EPIGENETIC CHANGES THAT CAN LEAD TO DISEASE DEVELOPMENT. DESPITE THEIR IMPORTANT ROLE IN HOST PHYSIOLOGY AND SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION, THERE HAS BEEN LITTLE RESEARCH INTO THE MECHANICS AND PATHWAYS ASSOCIATED WITH EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS. THIS CHAPTER FOCUSES ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MICROBES AND THEIR EPIGENETIC EFFECTS IN DISEASED PATHOLOGY, AS WELL AS ON THE REGULATION AND METABOLISM OF THE DIETARY OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO THE MICROBES. FURTHERMORE, THIS CHAPTER ALSO PROVIDES A PROSPECTIVE LINK BETWEEN THESE TWO IMPORTANT PHENOMENA, TERMED "MICROBIOME AND EPIGENETICS." 2023 5 3404 38 HOW EPIGENETICS IMPACTS ON HUMAN DISEASES. EPIGENETICS IS A RAPIDLY GROWING FIELD OF BIOLOGY THAT STUDIES THE CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION THAT ARE NOT DUE TO ALTERATIONS IN THE DNA SEQUENCE BUT RATHER THE CHEMICAL MODIFICATIONS OF DNA AND ITS ASSOCIATED PROTEINS. EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS CAN PROFOUNDLY INFLUENCE GENE EXPRESSION, CELL DIFFERENTIATION, TISSUE DEVELOPMENT, AND DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY. UNDERSTANDING EPIGENETIC CHANGES IS ESSENTIAL TO ELUCIDATE THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THE INCREASINGLY RECOGNIZED ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND LIFESTYLE FACTORS IN HEALTH AND DISEASE AND THE INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF PHENOTYPES. RECENT STUDIES SUGGEST EPIGENETICS MAY BE CRITICAL IN VARIOUS DISEASES, FROM CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE AND CANCER TO NEURODEVELOPMENTAL AND NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDERS. EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS ARE POTENTIALLY REVERSIBLE AND COULD PROVIDE NEW THERAPEUTIC AVENUES FOR TREATING THESE DISEASES USING EPIGENETIC MODULATORS. MOREOVER, EPIGENETICS PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO DISEASE PATHOGENESIS AND BIOMARKERS FOR DISEASE DIAGNOSIS AND RISK STRATIFICATION. NEVERTHELESS, EPIGENETIC INTERVENTIONS HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES AND MAY POTENTIALLY LEAD TO INCREASED RISKS OF UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES, SUCH AS ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS, DEVELOPMENTAL ABNORMALITIES, AND CANCER. THEREFORE, RIGOROUS STUDIES ARE ESSENTIAL TO MINIMIZE THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH EPIGENETIC THERAPIES AND TO DEVELOP SAFE AND EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS FOR IMPROVING HUMAN HEALTH. THIS ARTICLE PROVIDES A SYNTHETIC AND HISTORICAL VIEW OF THE ORIGIN OF EPIGENETICS AND SOME OF THE MOST RELEVANT ACHIEVEMENTS. 2023 6 5633 33 SENESCENT REMODELING OF THE INNATE AND ADAPTIVE IMMUNE SYSTEM IN THE ELDERLY MEN WITH PROSTATE CANCER. DESPITE YEARS OF INTENSIVE INVESTIGATION THAT HAS BEEN MADE IN UNDERSTANDING PROSTATE CANCER, IT REMAINS A MAJOR CAUSE OF DEATH IN MEN WORLDWIDE. PROSTATE CANCER EMERGES FROM MULTIPLE ALTERATIONS THAT INDUCE CHANGES IN EXPRESSION PATTERNS OF GENES AND PROTEINS THAT FUNCTION IN NETWORKS CONTROLLING CRITICAL CELLULAR EVENTS. BASED ON THE EXPONENTIAL AGING OF THE POPULATION AND THE INCREASING LIFE EXPECTANCY IN INDUSTRIALIZED WESTERN COUNTRIES, PROSTATE CANCER IN THE ELDERLY MEN IS BECOMING A DISEASE OF INCREASING SIGNIFICANCE. AGING IS A PROGRESSIVE DEGENERATIVE PROCESS STRICTLY INTEGRATED WITH INFLAMMATION. SEVERAL THEORIES HAVE BEEN PROPOSED THAT ATTEMPT TO DEFINE THE ROLE OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION IN AGING INCLUDING REDOX STRESS, MITOCHONDRIAL DAMAGE, IMMUNOSENESCENCE, AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS. HERE, WE REVIEW THE INNATE AND ADAPTIVE IMMUNE SYSTEMS AND THEIR SENESCENT REMODELING IN ELDERLY MEN WITH PROSTATE CANCER. 2014 7 6629 26 UNDERSTANDING THE HUMAN AGING PROTEOME USING EPIDEMIOLOGICAL MODELS. HUMAN AGING IS A COMPLEX MULTIFACTORIAL PROCESS ASSOCIATED WITH A DECLINE OF PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION AND HIGH SUSCEPTIBILITY TO CHRONIC DISEASES, INFLUENCED BY GENETIC, EPIGENETIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS. THIS CHAPTER WILL PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW ON THE USE OF EPIDEMIOLOGICAL MODELS WITH PROTEOMICS DATA AS A METHOD THAT CAN BE USED TO IDENTIFY FACTORS THAT MODULATE THE AGING PROCESS IN HUMANS. THIS IS DEMONSTRATED WITH PROTEOMICS DATA FROM HUMAN PLASMA AND SKELETAL MUSCLE, WHERE THE COMBINATION WITH EPIDEMIOLOGICAL MODELS IDENTIFIED A SET OF MITOCHONDRIAL, SPLICEOSOME, AND SENESCENCE PROTEINS AS WELL AS THE ROLE OF ENERGETIC PATHWAYS SUCH AS GLYCOLYSIS, AND ELECTRON TRANSPORT PATHWAYS THAT REGULATE THE AGING PROCESS. 2022 8 3102 34 GENOMIC INSTABILITIES, CELLULAR SENESCENCE, AND AGING: IN VITRO, IN VIVO AND AGING-LIKE HUMAN SYNDROMES. AS AVERAGE LIFE SPAN AND ELDERLY PEOPLE PREVALENCE IN THE WESTERN WORLD POPULATION IS GRADUALLY INCREASING, THE INCIDENCE OF AGE-RELATED DISEASES SUCH AS CANCER, HEART DISEASES, DIABETES, AND DEMENTIA IS INCREASING, BEARING SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES WORLDWIDE. UNDERSTANDING THE MOLECULAR BASIS OF AGING-RELATED PROCESSES CAN HELP EXTEND THE ORGANISM'S HEALTH SPAN, I.E., THE LIFE PERIOD IN WHICH THE ORGANISM IS FREE OF CHRONIC DISEASES OR DECREASE IN BASIC BODY FUNCTIONS. DURING THE LAST FEW DECADES, IMMENSE PROGRESS WAS MADE IN THE UNDERSTANDING OF MAJOR COMPONENTS OF AGING AND HEALTHY AGING BIOLOGY, INCLUDING GENOMIC INSTABILITY, TELOMERE ATTRITION, EPIGENETIC CHANGES, PROTEOSTASIS, NUTRIENT SENSING, MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION, CELLULAR SENESCENCE, STEM CELL EXHAUSTION, AND INTRACELLULAR COMMUNICATIONS. THIS PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE BY THREE SPEAR-HEADED STRATEGIES: IN VITRO (CELL AND TISSUE CULTURE FROM VARIOUS SOURCES), IN VIVO (INCLUDES DIVERSE MODEL AND NON-MODEL ORGANISMS), BOTH CAN BE MANIPULATED AND TRANSLATED TO HUMAN BIOLOGY, AND THE STUDY OF AGING-LIKE HUMAN SYNDROMES AND HUMAN POPULATIONS. HEREIN, WE WILL FOCUS ON CURRENT REPOSITORY OF GENOMIC "SENESCENCE" STAGE OF AGING, WHICH INCLUDES HEALTH DECLINE, STRUCTURAL CHANGES OF THE GENOME, FAULTY DNA DAMAGE RESPONSE AND DNA DAMAGE, TELOMERE SHORTENING, AND EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS. ALTHOUGH AGING IS A COMPLEX PROCESS, MANY OF THE "HALLMARKS" OF AGING ARE DIRECTLY RELATED TO DNA STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION. THIS REVIEW WILL ILLUSTRATE THE VARIETY OF THESE STUDIES, DONE IN IN VITRO, IN VIVO AND HUMAN LEVELS, AND HIGHLIGHT THE UNIQUE POTENTIAL AND CONTRIBUTION OF EACH RESEARCH LEVEL AND EVENTUALLY THE LINK BETWEEN THEM. 2018 9 6715 39 VITAMIN A AND THE EPIGENOME. THE EPIGENETIC PHENOMENA REFER TO HERITABLE CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION OTHER THAN THOSE IN THE DNA SEQUENCE, SUCH AS DNA METHYLATION AND HISTONE MODIFICATIONS. MAJOR RESEARCH PROGRESS IN THE LAST FEW YEARS HAS PROVIDED FURTHER PROOF THAT ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, INCLUDING DIET AND NUTRITION, CAN INFLUENCE PHYSIOLOGIC AND PATHOLOGIC PROCESSES THROUGH EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS, WHICH IN TURN INFLUENCE GENE EXPRESSION. THIS INFLUENCE IS TERMED NUTRITIONAL EPIGENETICS, AND ONE PROMINENT EXAMPLE IS THE REGULATION OF GENE TRANSCRIPTION BY VITAMIN A THROUGH INTERACTION TO ITS NUCLEAR RECEPTOR. VITAMIN A IS CRITICAL THROUGHOUT LIFE. TOGETHER WITH ITS DERIVATIVES, IT REGULATES DIVERSE PROCESSES INCLUDING REPRODUCTION, EMBRYOGENESIS, VISION, GROWTH, CELLULAR DIFFERENTIATION AND PROLIFERATION, MAINTENANCE OF EPITHELIAL CELLULAR INTEGRITY AND IMMUNE FUNCTION. HERE WE REVIEW THE EPIGENETIC ROLE OF VITAMIN A IN CANCER, STEM CELLS DIFFERENTIATION, PROLIFERATION, AND IMMUNITY. THE DATA PRESENTED HERE SHOW THAT RETINOIC ACID IS A POTENT AGENT CAPABLE OF INDUCING ALTERATIONS IN EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS THAT PRODUCE VARIOUS EFFECTS ON THE PHENOTYPE. MEDICAL BENEFITS OF VITAMIN A AS AN EPIGENETIC MODULATOR, ESPECIALLY WITH RESPECT TO ITS CHRONIC USE AS NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENT, SHOULD RELY ON OUR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING OF ITS EPIGENETIC EFFECTS DURING HEALTH AND DISEASE, AS WELL AS THROUGH DIFFERENT GENERATIONS. 2017 10 3676 33 INFLAMMATION AND NEUTROPHIL IMMUNOSENESCENCE IN HEALTH AND DISEASE: TARGETED TREATMENTS TO IMPROVE CLINICAL OUTCOMES IN THE ELDERLY. DESPITE INCREASING LONGEVITY, MANY OLD PEOPLE ARE NOT IN GOOD HEALTH. THERE HAS BEEN AN INCREASE IN THE PREVALENCE OF AGE-ASSOCIATED MULTI-MORBIDITY (TWO OR MORE CHRONIC CONDITIONS IN THE SAME PERSON). ALSO, SEVERE INFECTIONS, SUCH AS PNEUMONIA, REMAIN SIGNIFICANT CAUSES OF MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY IN THIS AGING GROUP. MANY CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS SHARE RISK FACTORS SUCH AS INCREASING AGE, SMOKING, A SEDENTARY LIFE STYLE AND BEING PART OF A LOWER SOCIOECONOMIC GROUP. HOWEVER, DESPITE THIS, MULTI-MORBIDITIES OFTEN CO-OCCUR MORE COMMONLY THAN WOULD BE PREDICTED. THIS HAS LED TO THE HYPOTHESIS THAT THEY SHARE COMMON UNDERLYING MECHANISMS. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT CONCEPT, FOR IF IT WERE TRUE, TREATMENTS COULD BE DEVISED WHICH TARGET THESE COMMON PATHWAYS AND IMPROVE A NUMBER OF AGE-ASSOCIATED HEALTH CONDITIONS. MANY CHRONIC ILLNESSES ASSOCIATED WITH MULTI-MORBIDITY AND SEVERE INFECTIONS ARE CHARACTERIZED BY AN ABNORMAL AND SUSTAINED INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE, WITH NEUTROPHILS BEING KEY EFFECTOR CELLS IN THE PATHOLOGICAL PROCESS. STUDIES HAVE DESCRIBED ABERRANT NEUTROPHIL FUNCTIONS ACROSS THESE CONDITIONS, AND SOME HAVE HIGHLIGHTED POTENTIAL MECHANISMS FOR ALTERED CELL BEHAVIOURS WHICH APPEAR SHARED ACROSS DISEASE STATES. IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED THAT ALTERED FUNCTIONS MAY REPRESENT NEUTROPHIL "SENESCENCE". THIS REVIEW CONSIDERS HOW AND WHY NEUTROPHIL FUNCTIONS CHANGE AS THE CELL AGES, AND HOW AND WHY NEUTROPHIL FUNCTIONS CHANGE AS THE HOST AGES IN HEALTH AND DISEASE AND DISCUSSES WHETHER NEUTROPHIL FUNCTIONS COULD BE TARGETED TO IMPROVE HEALTH OUTCOMES IN OLDER ADULTS. 2018 11 3123 41 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 12 4122 38 MECHANISMS OF DEVELOPMENT OF MULTIMORBIDITY IN THE ELDERLY. IN AGEING POPULATIONS MANY PATIENTS HAVE MULTIPLE DISEASES CHARACTERISED BY ACCELERATION OF THE NORMAL AGEING PROCESS. BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE SIGNALLING PATHWAYS AND CELLULAR EVENTS INVOLVED IN AGEING SHOWS THAT THESE ARE CHARACTERISTIC OF MANY CHRONIC DEGENERATIVE DISEASES, SUCH AS CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD), CHRONIC CARDIOVASCULAR AND METABOLIC DISEASES, AND NEURODEGENERATION. COMMON MECHANISMS HAVE NOW BEEN IDENTIFIED IN THESE DISEASES, WHICH SHOW EVIDENCE OF CELLULAR SENESCENCE WITH TELOMERE SHORTENING, ACTIVATION OF PI3K-AKT-MTOR SIGNALLING, IMPAIRED AUTOPHAGY, MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION, STEM CELL EXHAUSTION, EPIGENETIC CHANGES, ABNORMAL MICRORNA PROFILES, IMMUNOSENESCENCE AND LOW GRADE CHRONIC INFLAMMATION ("INFLAMMAGING"). MANY OF THESE PATHWAYS ARE DRIVEN BY CHRONIC OXIDATIVE STRESS. THERE IS ALSO A REDUCTION IN ANTI-AGEING MOLECULES, SUCH AS SIRTUINS AND KLOTHO, WHICH FURTHER ACCELERATES THE AGEING PROCESS. UNDERSTANDING THESE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS HAS IDENTIFIED SEVERAL NOVEL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS AND SEVERAL DRUGS HAVE ALREADY BEEN DEVELOPED THAT MAY SLOW THE AGEING PROCESS, AS WELL AS LIFESTYLE INTERVENTIONS, SUCH AS DIET AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. THIS INDICATES THAT IN THE FUTURE NEW TREATMENT APPROACHES MAY TARGET THE COMMON PATHWAYS INVOLVED IN MULTIMORBIDITY AND THIS AREA OF RESEARCH SHOULD BE GIVEN HIGH PRIORITY. THUS, COPD SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS A COMPONENT OF MULTIMORBIDITY AND COMMON DISEASE PATHWAYS, PARTICULARLY ACCELERATED AGEING, SHOULD BE TARGETED. 2015 13 1360 39 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 14 6287 35 THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IN MODULATING MITOCHONDRIAL DNA EPIGENETIC MARKS. MANY STUDIES IMPLICATE MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESSION OF NUMEROUS CHRONIC DISEASES. MITOCHONDRIA ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MOST CELLULAR ENERGY PRODUCTION, AND UNLIKE OTHER CYTOPLASMIC ORGANELLES, MITOCHONDRIA CONTAIN THEIR OWN GENOME. MOST RESEARCH TO DATE, THROUGH INVESTIGATING MITOCHONDRIAL DNA COPY NUMBER, HAS FOCUSED ON LARGER STRUCTURAL CHANGES OR ALTERATIONS TO THE ENTIRE MITOCHONDRIAL GENOME AND THEIR ROLE IN HUMAN DISEASE. USING THESE METHODS, MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION HAS BEEN LINKED TO CANCERS, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, AND METABOLIC HEALTH. HOWEVER, LIKE THE NUCLEAR GENOME, THE MITOCHONDRIAL GENOME MAY EXPERIENCE EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS, INCLUDING DNA METHYLATION THAT MAY PARTIALLY EXPLAIN SOME OF THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF VARIOUS EXPOSURES. RECENTLY, THERE HAS BEEN A MOVEMENT TO UNDERSTAND HUMAN HEALTH AND DISEASE WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE EXPOSOME, WHICH AIMS TO DESCRIBE AND QUANTIFY THE ENTIRETY OF ALL EXPOSURES PEOPLE ENCOUNTER THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES. THESE INCLUDE, AMONG OTHERS, ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS, OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURES, HEAVY METALS, AND LIFESTYLE AND BEHAVIORAL FACTORS. IN THIS CHAPTER, WE SUMMARIZE THE CURRENT RESEARCH ON MITOCHONDRIA AND HUMAN HEALTH, PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE ON MITOCHONDRIAL EPIGENETICS, AND DESCRIBE THE EXPERIMENTAL AND EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDIES THAT HAVE INVESTIGATED PARTICULAR EXPOSURES AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS WITH MITOCHONDRIAL EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS. WE CONCLUDE THE CHAPTER WITH SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE DIRECTIONS IN EPIDEMIOLOGIC AND EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH THAT IS NEEDED TO ADVANCE THE GROWING FIELD OF MITOCHONDRIAL EPIGENETICS. 2023 15 3697 32 INFLAMMATORY MARKERS IN CANCER: POTENTIAL RESOURCES. CANCER IS A LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH WORLDWIDE AND A MAJOR BURDEN ON DEVELOPING AND LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD WITH LIMITED RESOURCES FOR PREVENTION AND EFFECTIVE TREATMENT OF CANCER. ALTHOUGH CANCER IS MULTIFACTORIAL IN ORIGIN, VARIOUS EPIDEMIOLOGICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES SUGGEST THAT CHRONIC INFLAMMATION HAS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN ALL STAGES OF CANCER, FROM INITIATION TO PROGRESSION AND EVEN SURVIVAL OF THE PATIENT. INFLAMMATORY PRODUCTS LIKE CYTOKINES, CHEMOKINES, LEUCOCYTES, PROSTAGLANDINS, CYCLOOXYGENASE, REACTIVE OXYGEN AND NITROGEN SPECIES, METALLOPROTEINASE INDUCE GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN NORMAL CELLS DAMAGING ITS DNA, INHIBITING ITS REPAIR, ALTERING TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS, PREVENTING APOPTOSIS, AND STIMULATING ANGIOGENESIS, AND THUS RESULTING IN CARCINOGENESIS. THUS, THESE INFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS HAVE A POTENTIAL ROLE TO BECOME CANCER BIOMARKERS FOR ALL STAGES OF CANCER AS MANY OF THEM CAN BE MEASURED IN A COST-EFFECTIVE MANNER. HOWEVER, LARGE SCALE PROSPECTIVE TRIALS ARE REQUIRED TO VALIDATE THESE POTENTIAL CANCER BIOMARKERS. NONETHELESS, A TRANSITION FROM POTENTIAL TO PRACTICAL UTILIZATION OF THESE MARKERS WILL BE AN EFFECTIVE TOOL FOR THE AMELIORATION OF CANCER BURDEN AND MORTALITY IN A RESOURCE LIMITED SETTING. 2020 16 6135 29 THE EPIGENETICS OF INFLAMMAGING: THE CONTRIBUTION OF AGE-RELATED HETEROCHROMATIN LOSS AND LOCUS-SPECIFIC REMODELLING AND THE MODULATION BY ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULI. A GROWING AMOUNT OF EVIDENCES INDICATES THAT INFLAMMAGING - THE CHRONIC, LOW GRADE INFLAMMATION STATE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE ELDERLY - IS THE RESULT OF GENETIC AS WELL AS ENVIRONMENTAL OR STOCHASTIC FACTORS. SOME OF THESE, SUCH AS THE ACCUMULATION OF SENESCENT CELLS THAT ARE PERSISTENT DURING AGING OR ACCOMPANY ITS PROGRESSION, SEEM TO BE SUFFICIENT TO INITIATE THE AGING PROCESS AND TO FUEL IT. OTHERS, LIKE EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL COMPOUNDS OR INFECTIONS, ARE TEMPORARY AND RESOLVE WITHIN A (RELATIVELY) SHORT TIME. IN BOTH CASES, HOWEVER, A CELLULAR MEMORY OF THE EVENT CAN BE ESTABLISHED BY MEANS OF EPIGENETIC MODULATION OF THE GENOME. IN THIS REVIEW WE WILL SPECIFICALLY DISCUSS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EPIGENETICS AND INFLAMMAGING. IN PARTICULAR, WE WILL SHOW HOW AGE-ASSOCIATED EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS CONCERNED WITH HETEROCHROMATIN LOSS AND GENE-SPECIFIC REMODELLING, CAN PROMOTE INFLAMMAGING. FURTHERMORE, WE WILL RECALL HOW THE EXPOSURE TO SPECIFIC NUTRITIONAL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND MICROBIAL STIMULI CAN AFFECT THE RATE OF INFLAMMAGING THROUGH EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS, TOUCHING ALSO ON THE RECENT INSIGHT GIVEN BY THE CONCEPT OF TRAINED IMMUNITY. 2018 17 6812 35 [EPIGENETICS, INTERFACE BETWEEN ENVIRONMENT AND GENES: ROLE IN COMPLEX DISEASES]. EPIGENETICS IS THE STUDY OF HERITABLE CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION OR CELLULAR PHENOTYPE CAUSED BY MECHANISMS OTHER THAN CHANGES IN THE UNDERLYING DNA SEQUENCE. EPIGENETICS IS ONE OF THE MAJOR MECHANISMS EXPLAINING THE "DEVELOPMENTAL ORIGIN OF HEALTH AND DISEASES" (DOHAD). BESIDES GENETIC BACKGROUND INHERITED FROM PARENTS, WHICH CONFERS SUSCEPTIBILITY TO CERTAIN PATHOLOGIES, EPIGENETIC CHANGES CONSTITUTE THE MEMORY OF PREVIOUS EVENTS, EITHER POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE, ALONG THE LIFE CYCLE, INCLUDING AT THE IN UTERO STAGE. THE LATER EXPOSITION TO HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT MAY REVEAL SUCH SUSCEPTIBILITY, WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF VARIOUS PATHOLOGIES, AMONG THEM NUMEROUS CHRONIC COMPLEX DISEASES. THE DEMONSTRATION OF SUCH A SEQUENCE OF EVENTS HAS BEEN SHOWN FOR METABOLIC DISEASES AS OBESITY, METABOLIC SYNDROME AND TYPE 2 DIABETES, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE AND CANCER. IN CONTRAST TO GENETIC PREDISPOSITION, WHICH IS IRREVERSIBLE, EPIGENETIC CHANGES ARE POTENTIALLY REVERSIBLE, THUS GIVING TARGETS NOT ONLY FOR PREVENTION, BUT POSSIBLY ALSO FOR THE TREATMENT OF CERTAIN COMPLEX DISEASES. 2012 18 6880 35 [RESEARCH PROGRESS OF LUNG AGING IN CHRONIC RESPIRATORY DISEASES]. CELL AGING IS AN EXTREMELY COMPLEX PROCESS, WHICH IS CHARACTERIZED BY MITOCHONDRIAL STRUCTURAL DYSFUNCTION, TELOMERE SHORTENING, INFLAMMATORY MICROENVIRONMENT, PROTEIN HOMEOSTASIS IMBALANCE, EPIGENETIC CHANGES, ABNORMAL DNA DAMAGE AND REPAIR, ETC. AGING IS USUALLY ACCOMPANIED BY STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL DAMAGE OF TISSUES AND ORGANS WHICH FURTHER INDUCES THE OCCURRENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF AGING-RELATED DISEASES. AGING INCLUDES PHYSIOLOGICAL AGING CAUSED BY INCREASED AGE AND PATHOLOGICAL AGING INDUCED BY A VARIETY OF FACTORS. NOTEWORTHY, AS A TARGET ORGAN DIRECTLY CONTACTING WITH THE OUTSIDE AIR, LUNG IS MORE PRONE TO VARIOUS STIMULI, CAUSING PATHOLOGICAL PREMATURE AGING WHICH IS LUNG AGING. STUDIES HAVE FOUND THAT THERE IS A CERTAIN PROPORTION OF SENESCENT CELLS IN THE LUNGS OF MOST CHRONIC RESPIRATORY DISEASES. HOWEVER, THE UNDERLYING MECHANISM BY WHICH THESE SENESCENT CELLS INDUCE LUNG SENESCENCE AND THEIR ROLE IN CHRONIC RESPIRATORY DISEASES IS STILL OBSCURE. THIS PAPER FOCUSES ON THE CAUSES AND CLASSIFICATION OF LUNG AGING, THE INTERNAL MECHANISM OF LUNG AGING INVOLVED IN CHRONIC RESPIRATORY DISEASES, AND THE APPLICATION OF ANTI-AGING TREATMENTS IN CHRONIC RESPIRATORY DISEASES. WE HOPE TO PROVIDE NEW RESEARCH IDEAS AND THEORETICAL BASIS FOR THE CLINICAL PREVENTION AND TREATMENT IN CHRONIC RESPIRATORY DISEASES. 2022 19 5069 29 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN THE PREVENTION OF HUMAN DISEASES: ROLE OF EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS. EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION REFERS TO HERITABLE CHANGES IN GENE FUNCTION THAT CANNOT BE EXPLAINED BY ALTERATIONS IN THE DNA SEQUENCE. THE CURRENT LITERATURE CLEARLY DEMONSTRATES THAT THE EPIGENETIC RESPONSE IS HIGHLY DYNAMIC AND INFLUENCED BY DIFFERENT BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS SUCH AS AGING, NUTRIENT AVAILABILITY AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE. AS SUCH, IT IS WELL ACCEPTED THAT PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND EXERCISE CAN MODULATE GENE EXPRESSION THROUGH EPIGENETIC ALTERNATIONS ALTHOUGH THE TYPE AND DURATION OF EXERCISE ELICITING SPECIFIC EPIGENETIC EFFECTS THAT CAN RESULT IN HEALTH BENEFITS AND PREVENT CHRONIC DISEASES REMAINS TO BE DETERMINED. THIS REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT FINDINGS FROM EPIGENETIC STUDIES INVOLVING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY/EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS KNOWN TO BENEFIT CHRONIC DISEASES SUCH AS METABOLIC SYNDROME, DIABETES, CANCER, CARDIOVASCULAR AND NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES. 2017 20 5373 39 RECENT ADVANCES IN UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF DIET AND OBESITY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF COLORECTAL CANCER. COLORECTAL CANCER (CRC) IS A MAJOR CAUSE OF PREMATURE DEATH IN THE UK AND MANY DEVELOPED COUNTRIES. HOWEVER, THE RISK OF DEVELOPING CRC IS WELL RECOGNISED TO BE ASSOCIATED NOT ONLY WITH DIET BUT ALSO WITH OBESITY AND LACK OF EXERCISE. WHILE EPIDEMIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE SHOWS AN ASSOCIATION WITH FACTORS SUCH AS HIGH RED MEAT INTAKE AND LOW INTAKE OF VEGETABLES, FIBRE AND FISH, THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THESE EFFECTS ARE ONLY NOW BEING ELUCIDATED. CRC DEVELOPS OVER MANY YEARS AND IS TYPICALLY CHARACTERISED BY AN ACCUMULATION OF MUTATIONS, WHICH MAY ARISE AS A CONSEQUENCE OF INHERITED POLYMORPHISMS IN KEY GENES, BUT MORE COMMONLY AS A RESULT OF SPONTANEOUSLY ARISING MUTATIONS AFFECTING GENES CONTROLLING CELL PROLIFERATION, DIFFERENTIATION, APOPTOSIS AND DNA REPAIR. EPIGENETIC CHANGES ARE OBSERVED THROUGHOUT THE PROGRESS FROM NORMAL MORPHOLOGY THROUGH FORMATION OF ADENOMA, AND THE SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENT OF CARCINOMA. THE REASONS WHY THIS ACCUMULATION OF LOSS OF HOMOEOSTATIC CONTROLS ARISES ARE UNCLEAR BUT CHRONIC INFLAMMATION HAS BEEN PROPOSED TO PLAY A CENTRAL ROLE. OBESITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED PLASMA LEVELS OF CHEMOKINES AND ADIPOKINES CHARACTERISTIC OF CHRONIC SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION, AND DIETARY FACTORS SUCH AS FISH OILS AND PHYTOCHEMICALS HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY PROPERTIES AS WELL AS MODULATING ESTABLISHED RISK FACTORS SUCH AS APOPTOSIS AND CELL PROLIFERATION. THERE IS ALSO SOME EVIDENCE THAT DIET CAN MODIFY EPIGENETIC CHANGES. THIS PAPER BRIEFLY REVIEWS THE CURRENT STATE OF KNOWLEDGE IN RELATION TO CRC DEVELOPMENT AND CONSIDERS EVIDENCE FOR POTENTIAL MECHANISMS BY WHICH DIET MAY MODIFY RISK. 2011