1 5852 86 SUBLIMINAL (LATENT) PROCESSING OF PAIN AND ITS EVOLUTION TO CONSCIOUS AWARENESS. BY UNCONSCIOUS OR COVERT PROCESSING OF PAIN WE REFER TO NASCENT INTERACTIONS THAT AFFECT THE EVENTUAL DELIVERANCE OF PAIN AWARENESS. THUS, INTERNAL PROCESSES (VIZ., REPEATED NOCICEPTIVE EVENTS, INFLAMMATORY KINDLING, REORGANIZATION OF BRAIN NETWORKS, GENETIC) OR EXTERNAL PROCESSES (VIZ., ENVIRONMENT, SOCIOECONOMIC LEVELS, MODULATION OF EPIGENETIC STATUS) CONTRIBUTE TO ENHANCING OR INHIBITING THE PRESENTATION OF PAIN AWARENESS. HERE WE PUT FORWARD THE NOTION THAT FOR MANY PATIENTS, ONGOING SUB-CONSCIOUS CHANGES IN BRAIN FUNCTION ARE SIGNIFICANT PLAYERS IN THE EVENTUAL MANIFESTATION OF CHRONIC PAIN. IN THIS REVIEW, WE PROVIDE CLINICAL EXAMPLES OF NASCENT OR WHAT WE TERM PRE-PAIN PROCESSES AND THE NEUROBIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF HOW THESE CHANGES MAY CONTRIBUTE TO PAIN, BUT ALSO POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES TO DEFINE THE PROCESS FOR EARLY THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS. 2018 2 372 17 AN EMERGING EPIDEMIC OF NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES IN DEVELOPING POPULATIONS DUE TO A TRIPLE EVOLUTIONARY MISMATCH. WITH THEIR TRANSITION FROM ADVERSE TO AFFLUENT ENVIRONMENTS, DEVELOPING POPULATIONS EXPERIENCE A RAPID INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS WITH NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES. HERE, WE EMPHASIZE THAT DEVELOPING POPULATIONS ARE MORE SUSCEPTIBLE THAN WESTERN POPULATIONS TO ACQUIRE THESE CHRONIC DISEASES, BECAUSE THEIR GENETIC, CULTURAL, AND EPIGENETIC CHARACTERISTICS DO NOT MATCH WITH THE EAGERLY AWAITED AFFLUENT ENVIRONMENTS. IN REGARD TO THIS, THERE IS AN URGENT NEED FOR PUBLIC HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS TO REORGANIZE CURRENT ENVIRONMENTS IN DEVELOPING POPULATIONS SO AS TO FIT THEIR INHERITED CHARACTERISTICS. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS NEED IS NEGLECTED AS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS THAT FORM THE CORE OF THE UNITED NATIONS' POST-2015 DEVELOPMENT AGENDA. ONLY THROUGH GLOBAL COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS CAN THE ENVIRONMENTS IN DEVELOPING POPULATIONS BE REORGANIZED AND, THEREBY, THE EMERGING EPIDEMIC OF NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES BE STALLED. 2016 3 6513 19 TRANSCRIPTION-ASSOCIATED EVENTS AFFECTING GENOMIC INTEGRITY. ACCURATE MAINTENANCE OF GENOMIC AS WELL AS EPIGENOMIC INTEGRITY IS CRITICAL FOR PROPER CELL AND ORGAN FUNCTION. CONTINUOUS EXPOSURE TO DNA DAMAGE IS, THUS, OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH MALIGNANT TRANSFORMATION AND DEGENERATIVE DISEASES. A SIGNIFICANT, CHRONIC THREAT TO GENOME INTEGRITY LIES IN THE PROCESS OF TRANSCRIPTION, WHICH CAN RESULT IN THE FORMATION OF POTENTIALLY HARMFUL RNA : DNA HYBRID STRUCTURES (R-LOOPS) AND HAS BEEN LINKED TO DNA DAMAGE ACCUMULATION AS WELL AS DYNAMIC CHROMATIN REORGANIZATION. IN SHARP CONTRAST, RECENT EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT ACTIVE TRANSCRIPTION, THE RESULTING TRANSCRIPTS AS WELL AS R-LOOP FORMATION CAN PLAY MULTI-FACETED ROLES IN MAINTAINING AND RESTORING GENOME INTEGRITY. HERE, WE WILL DISCUSS THE EMERGING CONTRIBUTIONS OF TRANSCRIPTION AS BOTH A SOURCE OF DNA DAMAGE AND A MEDIATOR OF DNA REPAIR. WE PROPOSE THAT BOTH ASPECTS HAVE SIGNIFICANT IMPLICATIONS FOR GENOME MAINTENANCE, AND WILL SPECULATE ON POSSIBLE LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES FOR THE EPIGENETIC INTEGRITY OF TRANSCRIBING CELLS.THIS ARTICLE IS PART OF THE THEMED ISSUE 'CHROMATIN MODIFIERS AND REMODELLERS IN DNA REPAIR AND SIGNALLING'. 2017 4 4701 26 NICOTINE AND THE ADOLESCENT BRAIN. ADOLESCENCE ENCOMPASSES A SENSITIVE DEVELOPMENTAL PERIOD OF ENHANCED CLINICAL VULNERABILITY TO NICOTINE, TOBACCO, AND E-CIGARETTES. WHILE THERE ARE SOCIOCULTURAL INFLUENCES, DATA AT PRECLINICAL AND CLINICAL LEVELS INDICATE THAT THIS ADOLESCENT SENSITIVITY HAS STRONG NEUROBIOLOGICAL UNDERPINNINGS. ALTHOUGH DEFINITIONS OF ADOLESCENCE VARY, THE HALLMARK OF THIS PERIOD IS A PROFOUND REORGANIZATION OF BRAIN REGIONS NECESSARY FOR MATURE COGNITIVE AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTION, WORKING MEMORY, REWARD PROCESSING, EMOTIONAL REGULATION, AND MOTIVATED BEHAVIOR. REGULATING CRITICAL FACETS OF BRAIN MATURATION ARE NICOTINIC ACETYLCHOLINE RECEPTORS (NACHRS). HOWEVER, PERTURBATIONS OF CHOLINERGIC SYSTEMS DURING THIS TIME WITH NICOTINE, VIA TOBACCO OR E-CIGARETTES, HAVE UNIQUE CONSEQUENCES ON ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT. IN THIS REVIEW, WE HIGHLIGHT RECENT CLINICAL AND PRECLINICAL DATA EXAMINING THE ADOLESCENT BRAIN'S DISTINCT NEUROBIOLOGY AND UNIQUE SENSITIVITY TO NICOTINE. FIRST, WE DISCUSS WHAT DEFINES ADOLESCENCE BEFORE REVIEWING NORMATIVE STRUCTURAL AND NEUROCHEMICAL ALTERATIONS THAT PERSIST UNTIL EARLY ADULTHOOD, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON DOPAMINERGIC SYSTEMS. WE REVIEW HOW ACUTE EXPOSURE TO NICOTINE IMPACTS BRAIN DEVELOPMENT AND HOW DRUG RESPONSES DIFFER FROM THOSE SEEN IN ADULTS. FINALLY, WE DISCUSS THE PERSISTENT ALTERATIONS IN NEURONAL SIGNALING AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION THAT RESULT FROM CHRONIC NICOTINE EXPOSURE, WHILE HIGHLIGHTING A LOW DOSE, SEMI-CHRONIC EXPOSURE PARADIGM THAT MAY BETTER MODEL ADOLESCENT TOBACCO USE. WE ARGUE THAT NICOTINE EXPOSURE, INCREASINGLY OCCURRING AS A RESULT OF E-CIGARETTE USE, MAY INDUCE EPIGENETIC CHANGES THAT SENSITIZE THE BRAIN TO OTHER DRUGS AND PRIME IT FOR FUTURE SUBSTANCE ABUSE. 2015 5 6639 20 UNRAVELING THE EPIGENOMIC AND TRANSCRIPTOMIC INTERPLAY DURING ALCOHOL-INDUCED ANXIOLYSIS. POSITIVE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL DRINKING SUCH AS ANXIOLYSIS AND EUPHORIA APPEAR TO BE A CRUCIAL FACTOR IN THE INITIATION AND MAINTENANCE OF ALCOHOL USE DISORDER (AUD). HOWEVER, THE MECHANISMS THAT LEAD FROM CHROMATIN REORGANIZATION TO TRANSCRIPTOMIC CHANGES AFTER ACUTE ETHANOL EXPOSURE REMAIN UNKNOWN. HERE, WE USED ASSAY FOR TRANSPOSASE-ACCESSIBLE CHROMATIN FOLLOWED BY HIGH THROUGHPUT SEQUENCING (ATAC-SEQ) AND RNA-SEQ TO INVESTIGATE EPIGENOMIC AND TRANSCRIPTOMIC CHANGES THAT UNDERLIE ANXIOLYTIC EFFECTS OF ACUTE ETHANOL USING AN ANIMAL MODEL. ANALYSIS OF ATAC-SEQ DATA REVEALED AN OVERALL OPEN OR PERMISSIVE CHROMATIN STATE THAT WAS ASSOCIATED WITH TRANSCRIPTOMIC CHANGES IN THE AMYGDALA AFTER ACUTE ETHANOL EXPOSURE. WE IDENTIFIED A CANDIDATE GENE, HIF3A (HYPOXIA-INDUCIBLE FACTOR 3, ALPHA SUBUNIT), THAT HAD 'OPEN' CHROMATIN REGIONS (ATAC-SEQ PEAKS), ASSOCIATED WITH SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED ACTIVE EPIGENETIC HISTONE ACETYLATION MARKS AND DECREASED DNA METHYLATION AT THESE REGIONS. THE MRNA LEVELS OF HIF3A WERE INCREASED BY ACUTE ETHANOL EXPOSURE, BUT DECREASED IN THE AMYGDALA DURING WITHDRAWAL AFTER CHRONIC ETHANOL EXPOSURE. KNOCKDOWN OF HIF3A EXPRESSION IN THE CENTRAL NUCLEUS OF AMYGDALA ATTENUATED ACUTE ETHANOL-INDUCED INCREASES IN HIF3A MRNA LEVELS AND BLOCKED ANXIOLYSIS IN RATS. THESE DATA INDICATE THAT CHROMATIN ACCESSIBILITY AND TRANSCRIPTOMIC SIGNATURES IN THE AMYGDALA AFTER ACUTE ETHANOL EXPOSURE UNDERLIE ANXIOLYSIS AND POSSIBLY PRIME THE CHROMATIN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AUD. 2022 6 6541 16 TRANSCRIPTOME ANALYSIS OF HUMAN PRIMARY ENDOTHELIAL CELLS (HUVEC) FROM UMBILICAL CORDS OF GESTATIONAL DIABETIC MOTHERS REVEALS CANDIDATE SITES FOR AN EPIGENETIC MODULATION OF SPECIFIC GENE EXPRESSION. WITHIN THE COMPLEX PATHOLOGICAL PICTURE ASSOCIATED TO DIABETES, HIGH GLUCOSE (HG) HAS "PER SE" EFFECTS ON CELLS AND TISSUES THAT INVOLVE EPIGENETIC REPROGRAMMING OF GENE EXPRESSION. IN FETAL TISSUES, EPIGENETIC CHANGES OCCUR GENOME-WIDE AND ARE BELIEVED TO INDUCE SPECIFIC LONG TERM EFFECTS. HUMAN UMBILICAL VEIN ENDOTHELIAL CELLS (HUVEC) OBTAINED AT DELIVERY FROM GESTATIONAL DIABETIC WOMEN WERE USED TO STUDY THE TRANSCRIPTOMIC EFFECTS OF CHRONIC HYPERGLYCEMIA IN FETAL VASCULAR CELLS USING AFFYMETRIX MICROARRAYS. IN SPITE OF THE SMALL NUMBER OF SAMPLES ANALYZED (N=6), GENES RELATED TO INSULIN SENSING AND EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX REORGANIZATION WERE FOUND SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECTED BY HG. QUANTITATIVE PCR ANALYSIS OF GENE PROMOTERS IDENTIFIED A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENTIAL DNA METHYLATION IN TGFB2. USE OF EA.HY926 ENDOTHELIAL CELLS CONFIRMS DATA ON HUVEC. OUR STUDY CORROBORATES RECENT EVIDENCES SUGGESTING THAT EPIGENETIC REPROGRAMMING OF GENE EXPRESSION OCCURS WITH PERSISTENT HG AND PROVIDES A BACKGROUND FOR FUTURE INVESTIGATIONS ADDRESSING GENOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF CHRONIC HG. 2014 7 124 21 A SYSTEMS APPROACH DELIVERS A FUNCTIONAL MICRORNA CATALOG AND EXPANDED TARGETS FOR SEIZURE SUPPRESSION IN TEMPORAL LOBE EPILEPSY. TEMPORAL LOBE EPILEPSY IS THE MOST COMMON DRUG-RESISTANT FORM OF EPILEPSY IN ADULTS. THE REORGANIZATION OF NEURAL NETWORKS AND THE GENE EXPRESSION LANDSCAPE UNDERLYING PATHOPHYSIOLOGIC NETWORK BEHAVIOR IN BRAIN STRUCTURES SUCH AS THE HIPPOCAMPUS HAS BEEN SUGGESTED TO BE CONTROLLED, IN PART, BY MICRORNAS. TO SYSTEMATICALLY ASSESS THEIR SIGNIFICANCE, WE SEQUENCED ARGONAUTE-LOADED MICRORNAS TO DEFINE FUNCTIONALLY ENGAGED MICRORNAS IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS OF THREE DIFFERENT ANIMAL MODELS IN TWO SPECIES AND AT SIX TIME POINTS BETWEEN THE INITIAL PRECIPITATING INSULT THROUGH TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CHRONIC EPILEPSY. WE THEN SELECTED COMMONLY UP-REGULATED MICRORNAS FOR A FUNCTIONAL IN VIVO THERAPEUTIC SCREEN USING OLIGONUCLEOTIDE INHIBITORS. ARGONAUTE SEQUENCING GENERATED 1.44 BILLION SMALL RNA READS OF WHICH UP TO 82% WERE MICRORNAS, WITH OVER 400 UNIQUE MICRORNAS DETECTED PER MODEL. APPROXIMATELY HALF OF THE DETECTED MICRORNAS WERE DYSREGULATED IN EACH EPILEPSY MODEL. WE PRIORITIZED COMMONLY UP-REGULATED MICRORNAS THAT WERE FULLY CONSERVED IN HUMANS AND DESIGNED CUSTOM ANTISENSE OLIGONUCLEOTIDES FOR THESE CANDIDATE TARGETS. ANTISEIZURE PHENOTYPES WERE OBSERVED UPON KNOCKDOWN OF MIR-10A-5P, MIR-21A-5P, AND MIR-142A-5P AND ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL ANALYSES INDICATED BROAD SAFETY OF THIS APPROACH. COMBINED INHIBITION OF THESE THREE MICRORNAS REDUCED SPONTANEOUS SEIZURES IN EPILEPTIC MICE. PROTEOMIC DATA, RNA SEQUENCING, AND PATHWAY ANALYSIS ON PREDICTED AND VALIDATED TARGETS OF THESE MICRORNAS IMPLICATED DEREPRESSED TGF-BETA SIGNALING AS A SHARED SEIZURE-MODIFYING MECHANISM. CORRESPONDINGLY, INHIBITION OF TGF-BETA SIGNALING OCCLUDED THE ANTISEIZURE EFFECTS OF THE ANTAGOMIRS. TOGETHER, THESE RESULTS IDENTIFY SHARED, DYSREGULATED, AND FUNCTIONALLY ACTIVE MICRORNAS DURING THE PATHOGENESIS OF EPILEPSY WHICH REPRESENT THERAPEUTIC ANTISEIZURE TARGETS. 2020 8 4337 23 MICROTUBULES AS MAJOR REGULATORS OF ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION: IMPLICATION FOR LUNG INJURY. ENDOTHELIAL DYSFUNCTION HAS BEEN ATTRIBUTED AS ONE OF THE MAJOR COMPLICATIONS IN COVID-19 PATIENTS, A GLOBAL PANDEMIC THAT HAS ALREADY CAUSED OVER 4 MILLION DEATHS WORLDWIDE. THE DYSFUNCTION OF ENDOTHELIAL BARRIER IS CHARACTERIZED BY AN INCREASE IN ENDOTHELIAL PERMEABILITY AND INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES, AND HAS EVEN BROADER IMPLICATIONS IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROMES SUCH AS ARDS, SEPSIS AND CHRONIC ILLNESSES REPRESENTED BY PULMONARY ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION AND INTERSTITIAL LUNG DISEASE. THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF ENDOTHELIAL BARRIER IS MAINTAINED BY CYTOSKELETON ELEMENTS, CELL-SUBSTRATE FOCAL ADHESION AND ADHESIVE CELL JUNCTIONS. AGONIST-MEDIATED CHANGES IN ENDOTHELIAL PERMEABILITY ARE DIRECTLY ASSOCIATED WITH REORGANIZATION OF ACTOMYOSIN CYTOSKELETON LEADING TO CELL CONTRACTION AND OPENING OF INTERCELLULAR GAPS OR ENHANCEMENT OF CORTICAL ACTIN CYTOSKELETON ASSOCIATED WITH STRENGTHENING OF ENDOTHELIAL BARRIER. THE ROLE OF ACTIN CYTOSKELETON REMODELING IN ENDOTHELIAL BARRIER REGULATION HAS TAKEN THE CENTRAL STAGE, BUT THE IMPACT OF MICROTUBULES IN THIS PROCESS REMAINS LESS EXPLORED AND UNDER-APPRECIATED. THIS REVIEW WILL SUMMARIZE THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE ON THE CROSSTALK BETWEEN MICROTUBULES DYNAMICS AND ACTIN CYTOSKELETON REMODELING, DESCRIBE THE SIGNALING MECHANISMS MEDIATING THIS CROSSTALK, DISCUSS EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF MICROTUBULES STABILITY AND ITS NEXUS WITH ENDOTHELIAL BARRIER MAINTENANCE, AND OVERVIEW A ROLE OF MICROTUBULES IN TARGETED DELIVERY OF SIGNALING MOLECULES REGULATING ENDOTHELIAL PERMEABILITY AND INFLAMMATION. 2021 9 2336 21 EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF INFLAMMATORY FACTORS IN ADIPOSE TISSUE. OBESITY IS A STRONG RISK FACTOR FOR INSULIN RESISTANCE. CHRONIC LOW-GRADE TISSUE INFLAMMATION AND SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION HAVE BEEN PROPOSED AS MAJOR MECHANISMS THAT PROMOTE INSULIN RESISTANCE IN OBESITY. ADIPOSE TISSUE HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED AS A NEXUS BETWEEN INFLAMMATION AND METABOLISM, BUT HOW EXACTLY INFLAMMATORY GENE EXPRESSION IS ORCHESTRATED DURING THE DEVELOPMENT OF OBESITY IS NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD. EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS ARE DEFINED AS HERITABLE CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION AND CELLULAR FUNCTION WITHOUT CHANGES TO THE ORIGINAL DNA SEQUENCE. THE MAJOR EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS INCLUDE DNA METHYLATION, HISTONE MODIFICATION, NONCODING RNAS, NUCLEOPOSITIONING/REMODELING AND CHROMATIN REORGANIZATION. EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS PROVIDE A CRITICAL LAYER OF GENE REGULATION IN RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES. ACCUMULATING EVIDENCE SUPPORTS THAT EPIGENETICS PLAYS A LARGE ROLE IN THE REGULATION OF INFLAMMATORY GENES IN ADIPOCYTES AND ADIPOSE-RESIDENT IMMUNE CELL TYPES. THIS REVIEW FOCUSES ON THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ADIPOSE TISSUE INFLAMMATION IN OBESITY AND MAJOR EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS. 2021 10 1229 27 CRITICAL WINDOWS: EXPLORING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PERINATAL TRAUMA, EPIGENETICS, AND CHRONIC PAIN. CHRONIC PAIN IS HIGHLY PREVALENT AND BURDENSOME, AFFECTING MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WORLDWIDE. ALTHOUGH IT EMERGES AT ANY POINT IN LIFE, IT OFTEN MANIFESTS IN ADOLESCENCE. GIVEN THAT ADOLESCENCE IS A UNIQUE DEVELOPMENTAL PERIOD, ADDITIONAL STRAINS ASSOCIATED WITH PERSISTENT AND OFTEN IDIOPATHIC PAIN LEAD TO SIGNIFICANT LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES. WHILE THERE IS NO SINGULAR CAUSE FOR THE CHRONIFICATION OF PAIN, EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS THAT LEAD TO NEURAL REORGANIZATION MAY UNDERPIN CENTRAL SENSITIZATION AND SUBSEQUENT MANIFESTATION OF PAIN HYPERSENSITIVITY. EPIGENETIC PROCESSES ARE PARTICULARLY ACTIVE DURING THE PRENATAL AND EARLY POSTNATAL YEARS. WE DEMONSTRATE HOW EXPOSURE TO VARIOUS TRAUMAS, SUCH AS INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE WHILE IN UTERO OR ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES, CAN SIGNIFICANTLY INFLUENCE EPIGENETIC REGULATION WITHIN THE BRAIN AND IN TURN MODIFY PAIN-RELATED PROCESSES. WE PROVIDE COMPELLING EVIDENCE THAT THE BURDEN OF CHRONIC PAIN IS LIKELY INITIATED EARLY IN LIFE, OFTEN BEING TRANSMITTED FROM MOTHER TO OFFSPRING. WE ALSO HIGHLIGHT TWO PROMISING PROPHYLACTIC STRATEGIES, OXYTOCIN ADMINISTRATION AND PROBIOTIC USE, THAT HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO ATTENUATE THE EPIGENETIC CONSEQUENCES OF EARLY ADVERSITY. OVERALL, WE ADVANCE UNDERSTANDING OF THE CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRAUMA AND ADOLESCENT CHRONIC PAIN BY HIGHLIGHTING EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS THAT UNDERLIE THIS TRANSMISSION OF RISK, ULTIMATELY INFORMING HOW TO PREVENT THIS RISING EPIDEMIC. 2023 11 1877 18 EMERGING ROLES OF EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS IN THE ENDURING EFFECTS OF EARLY-LIFE STRESS AND EXPERIENCE ON LEARNING AND MEMORY. EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS ARE INVOLVED IN PROGRAMMING GENE EXPRESSION THROUGHOUT DEVELOPMENT. IN ADDITION, THEY ARE KEY CONTRIBUTORS TO THE PROCESSES BY WHICH EARLY-LIFE EXPERIENCE FINE-TUNES THE EXPRESSION LEVELS OF KEY NEURONAL GENES, GOVERNING LEARNING AND MEMORY THROUGHOUT LIFE. HERE WE DESCRIBE THE LONG-LASTING, BI-DIRECTIONAL EFFECTS OF EARLY-LIFE EXPERIENCE ON LEARNING AND MEMORY. WE DISCUSS HOW ENRICHED POSTNATAL EXPERIENCE ENDURINGLY AUGMENTS SPATIAL LEARNING, AND HOW CHRONIC EARLY-LIFE STRESS RESULTS IN PERSISTENT AND PROGRESSIVE DEFICITS IN THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF HIPPOCAMPAL NEURONS. THE EXISTING AND EMERGING ROLES OF EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS IN THESE FUNDAMENTAL NEUROPLASTICITY PHENOMENA ARE ILLUSTRATED. 2011 12 3123 27 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 13 800 22 CELLULAR, MOLECULAR, AND EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS IN NON-ASSOCIATIVE CONDITIONING: IMPLICATIONS FOR PAIN AND MEMORY. SENSITIZATION IS A FORM OF NON-ASSOCIATIVE CONDITIONING IN WHICH AMPLIFICATION OF BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES CAN OCCUR FOLLOWING PRESENTATION OF AN AVERSIVE OR NOXIOUS STIMULUS. UNDERSTANDING THE CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR UNDERPINNINGS OF SENSITIZATION HAS BEEN AN OVERARCHING THEME SPANNING THE FIELD OF LEARNING AND MEMORY AS WELL AS THAT OF PAIN RESEARCH. IN THIS REVIEW WE EXAMINE HOW SENSITIZATION, BOTH IN THE CONTEXT OF LEARNING AS WELL AS PAIN PROCESSING, SHARES EVOLUTIONARILY CONSERVED BEHAVIORAL, CELLULAR/SYNAPTIC, AND EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS ACROSS PHYLA. FIRST, WE CHARACTERIZE THE BEHAVIORAL PHENOMENON OF SENSITIZATION BOTH IN INVERTEBRATES AND VERTEBRATES. PARTICULAR EMPHASIS IS PLACED ON LONG-TERM SENSITIZATION (LTS) OF WITHDRAWAL REFLEXES IN APLYSIA FOLLOWING AVERSIVE STIMULATION OR INJURY, ALTHOUGH ADDITIONAL INVERTEBRATE MODELS ARE ALSO COVERED. IN THE CONTEXT OF VERTEBRATES, SENSITIZATION OF MAMMALIAN HYPERAROUSAL IN A MODEL OF POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD), AS WELL AS MAMMALIAN MODELS OF INFLAMMATORY AND NEUROPATHIC PAIN IS CHARACTERIZED. SECOND, WE INVESTIGATE THE CELLULAR AND SYNAPTIC MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THESE BEHAVIORS. WE FOCUS OUR DISCUSSION ON SEROTONIN-MEDIATED LONG-TERM FACILITATION (LTF) AND AXOTOMY-MEDIATED LONG-TERM HYPEREXCITABILITY (LTH) IN REDUCED APLYSIA SYSTEMS, AS WELL AS MAMMALIAN SPINAL PLASTICITY MECHANISMS OF CENTRAL SENSITIZATION. THIRD, WE EXPLORE RECENT EVIDENCE IMPLICATING EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS IN LEARNING- AND PAIN-RELATED SENSITIZATION. THIS REVIEW ILLUSTRATES THE FUNDAMENTAL AND FUNCTIONAL OVERLAY OF THE LEARNING AND MEMORY FIELD WITH THE PAIN FIELD WHICH ARGUES FOR HOMOLOGOUS PERSISTENT PLASTICITY MECHANISMS IN RESPONSE TO SENSITIZING STIMULI OR INJURY ACROSS PHYLA. 2013 14 1639 25 DOES EPIGENETIC 'MEMORY' OF EARLY-LIFE STRESS PREDISPOSE TO CHRONIC PAIN IN LATER LIFE? A POTENTIAL ROLE FOR THE STRESS REGULATOR FKBP5. ANIMAL BEHAVIOURS ARE AFFECTED NOT ONLY BY INHERITED GENES BUT ALSO BY ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERIENCES. FOR EXAMPLE, IN BOTH RATS AND HUMANS, STRESSFUL EARLY-LIFE EVENTS SUCH AS BEING REARED BY AN INATTENTIVE MOTHER CAN LEAVE A LASTING TRACE AND AFFECT LATER STRESS RESPONSE IN ADULT LIFE. THIS IS OWING TO A CHEMICAL TRACE LEFT ON THE CHROMATIN ATTRIBUTED TO SO-CALLED EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. SUCH AN EPIGENETIC TRACE OFTEN HAS CONSEQUENCES, SOMETIMES LONG-LASTING, ON THE FUNCTIONING OF OUR GENES, THEREBY ALLOWING INDIVIDUALS TO RAPIDLY ADAPT TO A NEW ENVIRONMENT. ONE GENE UNDER SUCH EPIGENETIC CONTROL IS FKBP5, THE GENE THAT ENCODES THE PROTEIN FKPB51, A CRUCIAL REGULATOR OF THE STRESS AXIS AND A SIGNIFICANT DRIVER OF CHRONIC PAIN STATES. IN THIS ARTICLE, WE WILL DISCUSS THE POSSIBILITY THAT EXPOSURE TO STRESS COULD DRIVE THE SUSCEPTIBLY TO CHRONIC PAIN VIA EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS OF GENES WITHIN THE STRESS AXIS SUCH AS FKBP5. THE POSSIBILITY THAT SUCH MODIFICATIONS, AND THEREFORE, THE SUSCEPTIBILITY TO CHRONIC PAIN, COULD BE TRANSMITTED ACROSS GENERATIONS IN MAMMALS AND WHETHER SUCH MECHANISMS MAY BE EVOLUTIONARILY CONSERVED ACROSS PHYLA WILL ALSO BE DEBATED. THIS ARTICLE IS PART OF THE THEO MURPHY MEETING ISSUE 'EVOLUTION OF MECHANISMS AND BEHAVIOUR IMPORTANT FOR PAIN'. 2019 15 2471 17 EPIGENETIC TRANSGENERATIONAL INHERITANCE OF ALTERED STRESS RESPONSES. ANCESTRAL ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES HAVE PREVIOUSLY BEEN SHOWN TO PROMOTE EPIGENETIC TRANSGENERATIONAL INHERITANCE AND INFLUENCE ALL ASPECTS OF AN INDIVIDUAL'S LIFE HISTORY. IN ADDITION, PROXIMATE LIFE EVENTS SUCH AS CHRONIC STRESS HAVE DOCUMENTED EFFECTS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF PHYSIOLOGICAL, NEURAL, AND BEHAVIORAL PHENOTYPES IN ADULTHOOD. WE USED A SYSTEMS BIOLOGY APPROACH TO INVESTIGATE IN MALE RATS THE INTERACTION OF THE ANCESTRAL MODIFICATIONS CARRIED TRANSGENERATIONALLY IN THE GERM LINE AND THE PROXIMATE MODIFICATIONS INVOLVING CHRONIC RESTRAINT STRESS DURING ADOLESCENCE. WE FIND THAT A SINGLE EXPOSURE TO A COMMON-USE FUNGICIDE (VINCLOZOLIN) THREE GENERATIONS REMOVED ALTERS THE PHYSIOLOGY, BEHAVIOR, METABOLIC ACTIVITY, AND TRANSCRIPTOME IN DISCRETE BRAIN NUCLEI IN DESCENDANT MALES, CAUSING THEM TO RESPOND DIFFERENTLY TO CHRONIC RESTRAINT STRESS. THIS ALTERATION OF BASELINE BRAIN DEVELOPMENT PROMOTES A CHANGE IN NEURAL GENOMIC ACTIVITY THAT CORRELATES WITH CHANGES IN PHYSIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR, REVEALING THE INTERACTION OF GENETICS, ENVIRONMENT, AND EPIGENETIC TRANSGENERATIONAL INHERITANCE IN THE SHAPING OF THE ADULT PHENOTYPE. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT DEMONSTRATION IN AN ANIMAL THAT ANCESTRAL EXPOSURE TO AN ENVIRONMENTAL COMPOUND MODIFIES HOW DESCENDANTS OF THESE PROGENITOR INDIVIDUALS PERCEIVE AND RESPOND TO A STRESS CHALLENGE EXPERIENCED DURING THEIR OWN LIFE HISTORY. 2012 16 4938 17 PATERNAL NICOTINE ENHANCES FEAR MEMORY, REDUCES NICOTINE ADMINISTRATION, AND ALTERS HIPPOCAMPAL GENETIC AND NEURAL FUNCTION IN OFFSPRING. NICOTINE USE REMAINS HIGHLY PREVALENT WITH TOBACCO AND E-CIGARETTE PRODUCTS CONSUMED WORLDWIDE. HOWEVER, INCREASING EVIDENCE OF TRANSGENERATIONAL EPIGENETIC INHERITANCE SUGGESTS THAT NICOTINE USE MAY ALTER BEHAVIOR AND NEUROBIOLOGY IN SUBSEQUENT GENERATIONS. WE TESTED THE EFFECTS OF CHRONIC PATERNAL NICOTINE EXPOSURE IN C57BL6/J MICE ON FEAR CONDITIONING IN F1 AND F2 OFFSPRING, AS WELL AS CONDITIONED FEAR EXTINCTION AND SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY, NICOTINE SELF-ADMINISTRATION, HIPPOCAMPAL CHOLINERGIC FUNCTIONING, RNA EXPRESSION, AND DNA METHYLATION IN F1 OFFSPRING. PATERNAL NICOTINE EXPOSURE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH ENHANCED CONTEXTUAL AND CUED FEAR CONDITIONING AND SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY OF EXTINGUISHED FEAR MEMORIES. FURTHER, NICOTINE REINFORCEMENT WAS REDUCED IN NICOTINE-SIRED MICE, AS ASSESSED IN A SELF-ADMINISTRATION PARADIGM. THESE BEHAVIORAL PHENOTYPES WERE COUPLED WITH ALTERED RESPONSE TO NICOTINE, UPREGULATED HIPPOCAMPAL NICOTINIC ACETYLCHOLINE RECEPTOR BINDING, REDUCED EVOKED HIPPOCAMPAL CHOLINERGIC CURRENTS, AND ALTERED METHYLATION AND EXPRESSION OF HIPPOCAMPAL GENES RELATED TO NEURAL DEVELOPMENT AND PLASTICITY. GENE EXPRESSION ANALYSIS SUGGESTS MULTIGENERATIONAL EFFECTS ON BROADER GENE NETWORKS POTENTIALLY INVOLVED IN NEUROPLASTICITY AND MENTAL DISORDERS. THE CHANGES IN FEAR CONDITIONING SIMILARLY SUGGEST PHENOTYPES ANALOGOUS TO ANXIETY DISORDERS SIMILAR TO POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS. 2021 17 1863 17 EMERGENCE OF MUC1 IN MAMMALS FOR ADAPTATION OF BARRIER EPITHELIA. THE MUCIN 1 (MUC1) GENE WAS DISCOVERED BASED ON ITS OVEREXPRESSION IN HUMAN BREAST CANCERS. SUBSEQUENT WORK DEMONSTRATED THAT MUC1 IS ABERRANTLY EXPRESSED IN CANCERS ORIGINATING FROM OTHER DIVERSE ORGANS, INCLUDING SKIN AND IMMUNE CELLS. THESE FINDINGS SUPPORTED A ROLE FOR MUC1 IN THE ADAPTATION OF BARRIER TISSUES TO INFECTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS. OF FUNDAMENTAL IMPORTANCE FOR THIS EVOLUTIONARY ADAPTATION WAS INCLUSION OF A SEA DOMAIN, WHICH CATALYZES AUTOPROTEOLYSIS OF THE MUC1 PROTEIN AND FORMATION OF A NON-COVALENT HETERODIMERIC COMPLEX. THE RESULTING MUC1 HETERODIMER IS POISED AT THE APICAL CELL MEMBRANE TO RESPOND TO LOSS OF HOMEOSTASIS. DISRUPTION OF THE COMPLEX RELEASES THE MUC1 N-TERMINAL (MUC1-N) SUBUNIT INTO A PROTECTIVE MUCOUS GEL. CONVERSELY, THE TRANSMEMBRANE C-TERMINAL (MUC1-C) SUBUNIT ACTIVATES A PROGRAM OF LINEAGE PLASTICITY, EPIGENETIC REPROGRAMMING AND REPAIR. THIS MUC1-C-ACTIVATED PROGRAM APPARENTLY EVOLVED FOR BARRIER TISSUES TO MOUNT SELF-REGULATING PROLIFERATIVE, INFLAMMATORY AND REMODELING RESPONSES ASSOCIATED WITH WOUND HEALING. EMERGING EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT MUC1-C UNDERPINS INFLAMMATORY ADAPTATION OF TISSUE STEM CELLS AND IMMUNE CELLS IN THE BARRIER NICHE. THIS REVIEW FOCUSES ON HOW PROLONGED ACTIVATION OF MUC1-C BY CHRONIC INFLAMMATION IN THESE NICHES PROMOTES THE CANCER STEM CELL (CSC) STATE BY ESTABLISHING AUTO-INDUCTIVE NODES THAT DRIVE SELF-RENEWAL AND TUMORIGENICITY. 2022 18 4036 21 MACROPHAGE EPIGENETIC MEMORIES OF EARLY LIFE INJURY DRIVE NEONATAL NOCICEPTIVE PRIMING. THE DEVELOPING PERIPHERAL NERVOUS AND IMMUNE SYSTEMS ARE FUNCTIONALLY DISTINCT FROM ADULTS. THESE SYSTEMS ARE VULNERABLE TO EFFECTS OF EARLY LIFE INJURY WHICH CAN INFLUENCE OUTCOMES RELATED TO NOCICEPTION FOLLOWING SUBSEQUENT INJURY LATER IN LIFE (I.E. "NEONATAL NOCICEPTIVE PRIMING"). THE UNDERPINNINGS OF THIS PHENOMENON ARE LARGELY UNKNOWN, ALTHOUGH MACROPHAGES CAN BE EPIGENETICALLY TRAINED BY INJURY. WE FOUND THAT MACROPHAGES ARE BOTH NECESSARY AND PARTIALLY SUFFICIENT TO DRIVE NEONATAL NOCICEPTIVE PRIMING POSSIBLY DUE TO A LONG-LASTING EPIGENETIC REMODELING OF PERIPHERAL MACROPHAGES. THE P75 NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR RECEPTOR (NTR) WAS OBSERVED TO BE AN IMPORTANT EFFECTOR IN REGULATING NEONATAL NOCICEPTIVE PRIMING. P75NTR MODULATES THE INFLAMMATORY PROFILE AND RESPONSES OF RODENT AND HUMAN MACROPHAGES. THIS "PAIN MEMORY" WAS ABLE TO BE TRANSFERRED TO A NAIVE HOST TO ALTER SEX-SPECIFIC PAIN-RELATED BEHAVIORS. THIS STUDY REVEALS A NOVEL MECHANISM BY WHICH ACUTE POST-SURGICAL PAIN MAY TRANSITION TO CHRONIC PAIN IN CHILDREN. 2023 19 980 19 CHRONIC PAIN: EMERGING EVIDENCE FOR THE INVOLVEMENT OF EPIGENETICS. EPIGENETIC PROCESSES, SUCH AS HISTONE MODIFICATIONS AND DNA METHYLATION, HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH MANY NEURAL FUNCTIONS INCLUDING SYNAPTIC PLASTICITY, LEARNING, AND MEMORY. HERE, WE CRITICALLY EXAMINE EMERGING EVIDENCE LINKING EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OR MAINTENANCE OF CHRONIC PAIN STATES. ALTHOUGH IN ITS INFANCY, RESEARCH IN THIS AREA POTENTIALLY UNIFIES SEVERAL PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESSES UNDERPINNING ABNORMAL PAIN PROCESSING AND OPENS UP A DIFFERENT AVENUE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL ANALGESICS. 2012 20 2503 15 EPIGENETICS AND METABOLISM AT THE CROSSROADS OF STRESS-INDUCED PLASTICITY, STEMNESS AND THERAPEUTIC RESISTANCE IN CANCER. DESPITE THE RECENT ADVANCES IN THE TREATMENT OF CANCERS, ACQUIRED DRUG RESISTANCE REMAINS A MAJOR CHALLENGE IN CANCER MANAGEMENT. WHILE EARLIER STUDIES SUGGEST DARWINIAN FACTORS DRIVING ACQUIRED DRUG RESISTANCE, RECENT STUDIES POINT TO A MORE DYNAMIC PROCESS INVOLVING PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY AND TUMOR HETEROGENEITY IN THE EVOLUTION OF ACQUIRED DRUG RESISTANCE. CHRONIC STRESS AFTER DRUG TREATMENT INDUCES INTRINSIC CELLULAR REPROGRAMMING AND CANCER STEMNESS THROUGH A SLOW-CYCLING PERSISTER STATE, WHICH SUBSEQUENTLY DRIVES CANCER PROGRESSION. BOTH EPIGENETIC AND METABOLIC MECHANISMS PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THIS DYNAMIC PROCESS. IN THIS REVIEW, WE DISCUSS HOW EPIGENETIC AND METABOLIC REPROGRAMMING LEADS TO STRESS-INDUCED PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY AND ACQUIRED DRUG RESISTANCE, AND HOW THE TWO REPROGRAMMING MECHANISMS CROSSTALK WITH EACH OTHER. 2020