1 6759 79 WNT SIGNALLING PATHWAY IN ORAL LESIONS. WINGLESS-INTEGRATED/BETA-CATENIN (WNT/?-CATENIN) SIGNALLING PATHWAY IS ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL INTERCELLULAR SIGNALLING PATHWAYS IN HUMANS. IT PLAYS AN INTRINSIC ROLE IN THE CELLULAR PROLIFERATION, DIFFERENTIATION AND REGENERATION ALONG WITH MANY OTHER CELLULAR FUNCTIONS. EPIGENETIC DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID METHYLATIONS AND SILENCING OF WNT SIGNALLING PATHWAY GENES HAVE A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN MALIGNANT TRANSFORMATION OF ORAL LESIONS SUCH AS ORAL SUBMUCOUS FIBROSIS, ORAL LEUKOPLAKIA, ORAL LICHEN PLANUS AND ERYTHROPLAKIA. THE INCREASE IN WNT INHIBITORY PROTEINS ALONG WITH INFLAMMATORY FACTORS CAUSE BONE LOSS IN PERIAPICAL LESIONS, SUCH AS CHRONIC APICAL PERIODONTITIS. THIS REVIEW DISCUSSES THE MOLECULAR GENETICS OF POTENTIALLY MALIGNANT ORAL LESIONS, SHEDS LIGHT ON OUR UNDERSTANDING OF WNT/?-CATENIN SIGNALLING IN BONE LOSS PERTAINING TO PERIAPICAL LESIONS, AND ALTERATION OF THIS PATHWAY FOR THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS. 2019 2 3499 20 IDENTIFICATION OF NOVEL TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATORS INVOLVED IN MACROPHAGE DIFFERENTIATION AND ACTIVATION IN U937 CELLS. BACKGROUND: MONOCYTES AND MACROPHAGES PLAY ESSENTIAL ROLE IN INNATE IMMUNITY. UNDERSTANDING THE UNDERLYING MECHANISM OF MACROPHAGE DIFFERENTIATION AND THE IDENTIFICATION OF REGULATORY MECHANISMS WILL HELP TO FIND NEW STRATEGIES TO PREVENT THEIR HARMFUL EFFECTS IN CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASES AND SEPSIS. RESULTS: MATURATION OF BLOOD MONOCYTES INTO TISSUE MACROPHAGES AND SUBSEQUENT INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE WAS MIMICKED IN U937 CELLS OF HUMAN HISTOCYTIC LYMPHOMA ORIGIN. WHOLE GENOME ARRAY ANALYSIS WAS EMPLOYED TO EVALUATE GENE EXPRESSION PROFILE TO IDENTIFY UNDERLYING TRANSCRIPTIONAL NETWORKS IMPLICATED DURING THE PROCESSES OF DIFFERENTIATION AND INFLAMMATION. IN ADDITION TO ALREADY KNOWN TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS (I.E. MAFB, EGR, IRF, BCL6, NFKB, AP1, NUR77), GENE EXPRESSION ANALYSIS FURTHER REVEALED NOVEL GENES (I.E. MEF2, BRI, HLX, HDAC5, H2AV, TCF7L2, NFIL3) PREVIOUSLY UNCHARACTERIZED TO BE INVOLVED IN THE DIFFERENTIATION PROCESS. A TOTAL OF 58 SELECTED GENES REPRESENTING CYTOKINES, CHEMOKINES, SURFACE ANTIGENS, SIGNALING MOLECULES AND TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS WERE VALIDATED BY REAL TIME PCR AND COMPARED TO PRIMARY MONOCYTE-DERIVED MACROPHAGES. BESIDE THE VERIFICATION OF SEVERAL NEW GENES, THE COMPARISON REVEALS INDIVIDUAL HETEROGENEITY OF BLOOD DONORS. CONCLUSION: UP REGULATION OF MEF2 FAMILY, HDACS, AND H2AV DURING CELL DIFFERENTIATION AND INFLAMMATION SHEDS NEW LIGHTS ONTO REGULATION EVENTS ON TRANSCRIPTIONAL AND EPIGENETIC LEVEL CONTROLLING THESE PROCESSES. DATA GENERATED WILL SERVE AS A SOURCE FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION OF MACROPHAGES DIFFERENTIATION PATHWAYS AND RELATED BIOLOGICAL RESPONSES. 2009 3 1711 29 DYSFUNCTIONAL STATE OF T CELLS OR EXHAUSTION DURING CHRONIC VIRAL INFECTIONS AND COVID-19: A REVIEW. CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) CONTINUOUSLY AFFECTING THE LIVES OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE. THE VIRUS IS SPREAD THROUGH THE RESPIRATORY ROUTE TO AN UNINFECTED PERSON, CAUSING MILD-TO-MODERATE RESPIRATORY DISEASE-LIKE SYMPTOMS THAT SOMETIMES PROGRESS TO SEVERE FORM AND CAN BE FATAL. WHEN THE HOST IS INFECTED WITH THE VIRUS, BOTH INNATE AND ADAPTIVE IMMUNITY COMES INTO PLAY. THE EFFECTOR T CELLS ACT AS THE MASTER PLAYER OF ADAPTIVE IMMUNE RESPONSE IN ERADICATING THE VIRUS FROM THE SYSTEM. BUT DURING CANCER AND CHRONIC VIRAL INFECTIONS, THE FATE OF AN EFFECTOR T CELL IS ALTERED, AND THE T CELL MAY ENTERS A STATE OF EXHAUSTION, WHICH IS MARKED BY LOSS OF EFFECTOR FUNCTION, DEPLETED PROLIFERATIVE CAPACITY AND CYTOTOXIC EFFECT ACCOMPLISHED BY AN INCREASED EXPRESSION OF NUMEROUS INHIBITORY RECEPTORS SUCH AS PROGRAMMED CELL DEATH PROTEIN 1 (PD-1), LYMPHOCYTE-ACTIVATION PROTEIN 3 (LAG-3), AND CYTOTOXIC T LYMPHOCYTE-ASSOCIATED ANTIGEN 4 (CTLA-4) ON THEIR SURFACE. VARIOUS OTHER TRANSCRIPTIONAL AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES TAKE PLACE INSIDE THE T CELL WHEN IT ENTERS INTO AN EXHAUSTED STATE. LATEST STUDIES POINT TOWARD THE INDUCTION OF AN ABNORMAL IMMUNE RESPONSE SUCH AS LYMPHOPENIA, CYTOKINE STORM, AND T CELL EXHAUSTION DURING SARS-COV-2 (SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME CORONAVIRUS 2) INFECTION. THIS REVIEW SHEDS LIGHT ON THE DYSFUNCTIONAL STATE OF T CELLS DURING CHRONIC VIRAL INFECTION AND COVID-19. UNDERSTANDING THE CAUSE AND THE EFFECT OF T CELL EXHAUSTION OBSERVED DURING COVID-19 MAY HELP RESOLVE NEW THERAPEUTIC POTENTIALS FOR TREATING CHRONIC INFECTIONS AND OTHER DISEASES. 2022 4 6307 19 THE REFERENCE EPIGENOME AND REGULATORY CHROMATIN LANDSCAPE OF CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA. CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (CLL) IS A FREQUENT HEMATOLOGICAL NEOPLASM IN WHICH UNDERLYING EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS ARE ONLY PARTIALLY UNDERSTOOD. HERE, WE ANALYZE THE REFERENCE EPIGENOME OF SEVEN PRIMARY CLLS AND THE REGULATORY CHROMATIN LANDSCAPE OF 107 PRIMARY CASES IN THE CONTEXT OF NORMAL B CELL DIFFERENTIATION. WE IDENTIFY THAT THE CLL CHROMATIN LANDSCAPE IS LARGELY INFLUENCED BY DISTINCT DYNAMICS DURING NORMAL B CELL MATURATION. BEYOND THIS, WE DEFINE EXTENSIVE CATALOGUES OF REGULATORY ELEMENTS DE NOVO REPROGRAMMED IN CLL AS A WHOLE AND IN ITS MAJOR CLINICO-BIOLOGICAL SUBTYPES CLASSIFIED BY IGHV SOMATIC HYPERMUTATION LEVELS. WE UNCOVER THAT IGHV-UNMUTATED CLLS HARBOR MORE ACTIVE AND OPEN CHROMATIN THAN IGHV-MUTATED CASES. FURTHERMORE, WE SHOW THAT DE NOVO ACTIVE REGIONS IN CLL ARE ENRICHED FOR NFAT, FOX AND TCF/LEF TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR FAMILY BINDING SITES. ALTHOUGH MOST GENETIC ALTERATIONS ARE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH CONSISTENT EPIGENETIC PROFILES, CLLS WITH MYD88 MUTATIONS AND TRISOMY 12 SHOW DISTINCT CHROMATIN CONFIGURATIONS. FURTHERMORE, WE OBSERVE THAT NON-CODING MUTATIONS IN IGHV-MUTATED CLLS ARE ENRICHED IN H3K27AC-ASSOCIATED REGULATORY ELEMENTS OUTSIDE ACCESSIBLE CHROMATIN. OVERALL, THIS STUDY PROVIDES AN INTEGRATIVE PORTRAIT OF THE CLL EPIGENOME, IDENTIFIES EXTENSIVE NETWORKS OF ALTERED REGULATORY ELEMENTS AND SHEDS LIGHT ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC ARCHITECTURE OF THE DISEASE. 2018 5 4324 22 MICRORNAS IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: FROM PATHOGENESIS TO CLINICAL IMPACT. OVER THE LAST DECADE, MANY EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS THAT CONTRIBUTE IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS HAVE BEEN REVEALED. MICRORNAS (MIRNAS) ARE SMALL, NON-CODING, RNA MOLECULES THAT BIND TO MESSENGER RNAS AND DISRUPT THE TRANSCRIPTION OF TARGET GENES. RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA) IS A CHRONIC SYSTEMIC AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE IN WHICH A PLETHORA OF EPIGENETIC CHANGES TAKE PLACE. CURRENT RESEARCH ON RA EPIGENETICS HAS FOCUSED MAINLY ON MIRNAS. GENETIC VARIANCE OF SOME MIRNA GENES, ESPECIALLY MIR-499, MIGHT PREDISPOSE AN INDIVIDUAL TO RA DEVELOPMENT. ADDITIONALLY, ALTERED EXPRESSION OF MANY MIRNAS HAS BEEN DISCOVERED IN SEVERAL CELLS, TISSUES AND BODY FLUIDS IN PATIENTS WITH RA. MIRNAS EXPRESSION ALSO DIFFERS DEPENDING ON DISEASE'S STAGE AND ACTIVITY. SERUM MIR-22 AND MIR-103A MIGHT PREDICT RA DEVELOPMENT IN SUSCEPTIBLE INDIVIDUALS (PRE-RA), WHILE SERUM MIR-16, MIR-24, MIR-125A AND MIR-223 LEVELS ARE ALTERED IN EARLY RA (DISEASE DURATION <12 MONTHS) PATIENTS COMPARED TO ESTABLISHED RA OR HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS. MOREOVER, SERUM MIR-223 LEVELS HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH RA ACTIVITY AND DISEASE RELAPSE. WHAT IS MORE, SERUM LEVELS OF SEVERAL MIRNAS, INCLUDING MIR-125B AND MIR-223, COULD BE USED TO PREDICT RESPONSE TO RA TREATMENT. FINALLY, MIRNA ANALOGS OR ANTAGONISTS HAVE BEEN USED AS THERAPEUTIC REGIMENS IN EXPERIMENTAL ARTHRITIS MODELS AND HAVE DEMONSTRATED PROMISING RESULTS. IN CONCLUSION, THE RESEARCH ON THE MIRNA ALTERATIONS IN RA SHEDS LIGHT TO SEVERAL ASPECTS OF RA PATHOGENESIS, INTRODUCES NEW BIOMARKERS FOR RA DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT RESPONSE PREDICTION AND OFFERS THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCOVER NEW, TARGETED DRUGS FOR PATIENTS WITH RA. 2019 6 6700 26 VASCULAR CALCIFICATION MECHANISMS: UPDATES AND RENEWED INSIGHT INTO SIGNALING PATHWAYS INVOLVED IN HIGH PHOSPHATE-MEDIATED VASCULAR SMOOTH MUSCLE CELL CALCIFICATION. VASCULAR CALCIFICATION (VC) IS ASSOCIATED WITH AGING, CARDIOVASCULAR AND RENAL DISEASES AND RESULTS IN POOR MORBIDITY AND INCREASED MORTALITY. VC OCCURS IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD), A CONDITION THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH SERUM PHOSPHATE (PI) AND SEVERE CARDIOVASCULAR CONSEQUENCES. HIGH SERUM PI LEVEL IS RELATED TO SOME PATHOLOGIES WHICH AFFECT THE BEHAVIOUR OF VASCULAR CELLS, INCLUDING PLATELETS, ENDOTHELIAL CELLS (ECS) AND SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS (SMCS), AND PLAYS A CENTRAL ROLE IN PROMOTING VC. VC IS A COMPLEX, ACTIVE AND CELL-MEDIATED PROCESS INVOLVING THE TRANSDIFFERENTIATION OF VASCULAR SMCS TO A BONE-LIKE PHENOTYPE, SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION, DECREASED ANTI-CALCIFIC EVENTS (LOSS OF CALCIFICATION INHIBITORS), LOSS IN SMC LINEAGE MARKERS AND ENHANCED PRO-CALCIFIC MICRORNAS (MIRS), AN INCREASED INTRACELLULAR CALCIUM LEVEL, APOPTOSIS, ABERRANT DNA DAMAGE RESPONSE (DDR) AND SENESCENCE OF VASCULAR SMCS. THIS REVIEW GIVES A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE OF VC MECHANISMS WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON PI-INDUCED CHANGES IN THE VASCULAR WALL IMPORTANT IN PROMOTING CALCIFICATION. IN ADDITION TO REVIEWING THE MAIN FINDINGS, THIS REVIEW ALSO SHEDS LIGHT ON DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH IN THIS AREA AND DISCUSSES EMERGING PATHWAYS SUCH AS PI-REGULATED INTRACELLULAR CALCIUM SIGNALING, EPIGENETICS, OXIDATIVE DNA DAMAGE AND SENESCENCE-MEDIATED MECHANISMS THAT MAY PLAY CRITICAL, YET TO BE EXPLORED, REGULATORY AND DRUGGABLE ROLES IN LIMITING VC. 2021 7 2600 21 EPIGENETICS REGULATION DURING VIRUS-HOST INTERACTION AND THEIR EFFECTS ON THE VIRUS AND HOST CELL. EPIGENETICS, A FIELD OF STUDY FOCUSED ON CELLULAR GENE REGULATION INDEPENDENT OF DNA SEQUENCE ALTERATIONS, ENCOMPASSES DNA METHYLATION, HISTONE MODIFICATION AND MICRORNA MODIFICATION. EPIGENETICS PROCESSES PLAY A PIVOTAL ROLE IN GOVERNING THE LIFE CYCLES OF VIRUSES, ENABLING THEIR TRANSMISSION, PERSISTENCE, AND MAINTENANCE WITH IN HOST ORGANISMS. THIS REVIEW EXAMINES THE EPIGENETICS REGULATION OF DIVERSE VIRUS INCLUDING ORTHOMOXYVIRUSES, CORONAVIRUS, RETROVIRIDAE, MONONEGAVIRALES, AND POXVIRUSES AMONG OTHERS. THE INVESTIGATION ENCOMPASSES TEN REPRESENTATIVE VIRUSES FROM THESE FAMILIES. DETAILED EXPLORATION OF THE EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS UNDERLYING EACH VIRUS TYPE, INVOLVING MIRNA MODIFICATION, HISTONE MODIFICATION AND DNA METHYLATION, SHEDS LIGHT ON THE INTRICATE AND MULTIFACETED EPIGENETIC INTERPLAY BETWEEN VIRUSES AND THEIR HOSTS. FURTHERMORE, THIS REVIEW INVESTIGATES THE INFLUENCE OF THESE EPIGENETIC PROCESSES ON INFECTION CYCLES, EMPHASIZING THE UTILIZATION OF EPIGENETICS BY VIRUSES SUCH AS EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS AND HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS (HIV) TO REGULATE GENE EXPRESSION DURING CHRONIC OR LATENT INFECTIONS, CONTROL LATENCY, AND TRANSITION TO LYTIC INFECTION. FINALLY, THE PAPER EXPLORES THE NOVEL TREATMENTS POSSIBILITIES STEMMING FROM THIS EPIGENETIC UNDERSTANDING. 2023 8 2580 21 EPIGENETICS OF MICRO-OPIOID RECEPTORS: INTERSECTION WITH HIV-1 INFECTION OF THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. THE ABUSE OF INTRAVENOUS DRUGS, SUCH AS HEROIN, HAS BECOME A MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN DUE TO THE INCREASED RISK OF HIV-1 INFECTION. OPIOIDS SUCH AS HEROIN WERE ORIGINALLY IDENTIFIED AND SUBSEQUENTLY ABUSED FOR THEIR ANALGESIC EFFECTS. HOWEVER, MANY INVESTIGATIONS HAVE FOUND ADDITIONAL EFFECTS OF OPIOIDS, INCLUDING REGULATION OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM. AS SUCH, CHRONIC OPIOID ABUSE HAS BEEN SHOWN TO PROMOTE HIV-1 PATHOGENESIS AND FACILITATE HIV-1-ASSOCIATED NEUROCOGNITIVE DYSFUNCTION. CLINICAL OPIOIDS, SUCH AS MORPHINE AND METHADONE, AS WELL AS ILLICIT OPIOIDS, SUCH AS HEROIN, EXERT THEIR EFFECTS PRIMARILY THROUGH INTERACTIONS WITH THE MICRO-OPIOID RECEPTOR (MOR). HOWEVER, THE MECHANISMS BY WHICH OPIOIDS ENHANCE NEUROCOGNITIVE DYSFUNCTION THROUGH MOR-MEDIATED SIGNALING PATHWAYS ARE NOT COMPLETELY UNDERSTOOD. NEW FINDINGS IN THE REGULATION OF MOR EXPRESSION, PARTICULARLY EPIGENETIC AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION AS WELL AS ALTERNATIVE SPLICING, SHEDS NEW INSIGHTS INTO POSSIBLE MECHANISMS OF HIV-1 AND OPIATE SYNERGY. IN THIS REVIEW, WE IDENTIFY MECHANISMS REGULATING MOR EXPRESSION AND PROPOSE NOVEL MECHANISMS BY WHICH OPIOIDS AND HIV-1 MAY MODULATE THIS REGULATION. ADDITIONALLY, WE SUGGEST THAT DIFFERENTIAL REGULATION OF NEWLY IDENTIFIED MOR ISOFORMS BY OPIOIDS AND HIV-1 HAS FUNCTIONAL CONSEQUENCE IN ENHANCING HIV-1 NEUROCOGNITIVE DYSFUNCTION. 2012 9 4777 24 NUTRACEUTICALS AND NETWORK PHARMACOLOGY APPROACH FOR ACUTE KIDNEY INJURY: A REVIEW FROM THE DRUG DISCOVERY ASPECT. ACUTE KIDNEY INJURY (AKI) HAS BECOME A GLOBAL HEALTH ISSUE, WITH APPROXIMATELY 12 MILLION REPORTS YEARLY, RESULTING IN A PERSISTENT INCREASE IN MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY RATES. AKI PATHOPHYSIOLOGY IS MULTIFACTORIAL INVOLVING OXIDATIVE STRESS, MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION, EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, INFLAMMATION, AND EVENTUALLY, CELL DEATH. HENCE, THERAPIES ABLE TO TARGET MULTIPLE PATHOMECHANISMS CAN AID IN AKI MANAGEMENT. TO CHANGE THE DRUG DISCOVERY FRAMEWORK FROM "ONE DRUG, ONE TARGET" TO "MULTICOMPONENT, MULTITARGET," NETWORK PHARMACOLOGY IS EVOLVING AS A NEXT-GENERATION RESEARCH APPROACH. RESEARCHERS HAVE USED THE NETWORK PHARMACOLOGY APPROACH TO PREDICT THE ROLE OF NUTRACEUTICALS AGAINST DIFFERENT AILMENTS INCLUDING AKI. NUTRACEUTICALS (HERBAL PRODUCTS, ISOLATED NUTRIENTS, AND DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS) BELONG TO THE PIONEERING CATEGORY OF NATURAL PRODUCTS AND HAVE SHOWN PROTECTIVE ACTION AGAINST AKI. NUTRACEUTICALS HAVE RECENTLY DRAWN ATTENTION BECAUSE OF THEIR ABILITY TO PROVIDE PHYSIOLOGICAL BENEFITS WITH LESS TOXIC EFFECTS. THIS REVIEW EMPHASIZES THE NUTRACEUTICALS THAT EXHIBITED RENOPROTECTION AGAINST AKI AND CAN BE USED EITHER AS MONOTHERAPY OR ADJUVANT WITH CONVENTIONAL THERAPIES TO BOOST THEIR EFFECTIVENESS AND LESSEN THE ADVERSE EFFECTS. ADDITIONALLY, THE STUDY SHEDS LIGHT ON THE APPLICATION OF NETWORK PHARMACOLOGY AS A COST-EFFECTIVE AND TIME-SAVING APPROACH FOR THE THERAPEUTIC TARGET PREDICTION OF NUTRACEUTICALS AGAINST AKI. 2023 10 6103 31 THE EMERGING ROLE OF HDACS: PATHOLOGY AND THERAPEUTIC TARGETS IN DIABETES MELLITUS. DIABETES MELLITUS (DM) IS ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL MANIFESTATIONS OF METABOLIC SYNDROME AND ITS PREVALENCE WITH MODERN LIFESTYLE IS INCREASING INCESSANTLY. CHRONIC HYPERGLYCEMIA CAN INDUCE SEVERAL VASCULAR COMPLICATIONS THAT WERE REFERRED TO BE THE MAJOR CAUSE OF MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY IN DM. ALTHOUGH SEVERAL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AND ACCESSED CLINICALLY, THE IMMINENT RISK OF DM AND ITS PREVALENCE ARE STILL ASCENDING. SUBSTANTIAL PIECES OF EVIDENCE REVEALED THAT HISTONE DEACETYLASE (HDAC) ISOFORMS CAN REGULATE VARIOUS MOLECULAR ACTIVITIES IN DM VIA EPIGENETIC AND POST-TRANSLATIONAL REGULATION OF SEVERAL TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS. TO DATE, 18 HDAC ISOFORMS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED IN MAMMALS THAT WERE CATEGORIZED INTO FOUR DIFFERENT CLASSES. CLASSES I, II, AND IV ARE REGARDED AS CLASSICAL HDACS, WHICH OPERATE THROUGH A ZN-BASED MECHANISM. IN CONTRAST, CLASS III HDACS OR SIRTUINS DEPEND ON NICOTINAMIDE ADENINE DINUCLEOTIDE (NAD(+)) FOR THEIR MOLECULAR ACTIVITY. FUNCTIONALLY, MOST OF THE HDAC ISOFORMS CAN REGULATE BETA CELL FATE, INSULIN RELEASE, INSULIN EXPRESSION AND SIGNALING, AND GLUCOSE METABOLISM. MOREOVER, THE ROLES OF HDAC MEMBERS HAVE BEEN IMPLICATED IN THE REGULATION OF OXIDATIVE STRESS, INFLAMMATION, APOPTOSIS, FIBROSIS, AND OTHER PATHOLOGICAL EVENTS, WHICH SUBSTANTIALLY CONTRIBUTE TO DIABETES-RELATED VASCULAR DYSFUNCTIONS. THEREFORE, HDACS COULD SERVE AS THE POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC TARGET IN DM TOWARDS DEVELOPING NOVEL INTERVENTION STRATEGIES. THIS REVIEW SHEDS LIGHT ON THE EMERGING ROLE OF HDACS/ISOFORMS IN DIABETIC PATHOPHYSIOLOGY AND EMPHASIZED THE SCOPE OF THEIR TARGETING IN DM FOR CONSTITUTING NOVEL INTERVENTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR METABOLIC DISORDERS/COMPLICATIONS. 2021 11 1136 24 COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW OF MICRORNA FUNCTION IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS. MICRORNAS (MIRNAS), A CLASS OF ENDOGENOUS SINGLE-STRANDED SHORT NONCODING RNAS, HAVE EMERGED AS VITAL EPIGENETIC REGULATORS OF BOTH PATHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESSES IN ANIMALS. THEY DIRECT FUNDAMENTAL CELLULAR PATHWAYS AND PROCESSES BY FINE-TUNING THE EXPRESSION OF MULTIPLE GENES AT THE POSTTRANSCRIPTIONAL LEVEL. GROWING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT MIRNAS ARE IMPLICATED IN THE ONSET AND DEVELOPMENT OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA). RA IS A CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASE THAT MAINLY AFFECTS SYNOVIAL JOINTS. THIS COMMON AUTOIMMUNE DISORDER IS CHARACTERIZED BY A COMPLEX AND MULTIFACETED PATHOGENESIS, AND ITS MORBIDITY, DISABILITY AND MORTALITY RATES REMAIN CONSISTENTLY HIGH. MORE IN-DEPTH INSIGHTS INTO THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS OF RA ARE REQUIRED TO ADDRESS UNMET CLINICAL NEEDS AND OPTIMIZE TREATMENT. HEREIN, WE COMPREHENSIVELY REVIEW THE DEREGULATED MIRNAS AND IMPAIRED CELLULAR FUNCTIONS IN RA TO SHED LIGHT ON SEVERAL ASPECTS OF RA PATHOGENESIS, WITH A FOCUS ON EXCESSIVE INFLAMMATION, SYNOVIAL HYPERPLASIA AND PROGRESSIVE JOINT DAMAGE. THIS REVIEW ALSO PROVIDES PROMISING TARGETS FOR INNOVATIVE THERAPIES OF RA. IN ADDITION, WE DISCUSS THE REGULATORY ROLES AND CLINICAL POTENTIAL OF EXTRACELLULAR MIRNAS IN RA, HIGHLIGHTING THEIR PROSPECTIVE APPLICATIONS AS DIAGNOSTIC AND PREDICTIVE BIOMARKERS. 2023 12 4287 26 MICRORNA EXPRESSION PROFILING IN BEHCET'S DISEASE. BACKGROUND: BEHCET'S DISEASE (BD) IS A CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY MULTISYSTEM DISEASE CHARACTERIZED BY ORAL AND GENITAL ULCERS, UVEITIS, AND SKIN LESIONS. MICRORNAS (MIRNAS) ARE KEY REGULATORS OF IMMUNE RESPONSES. DIFFERENTIAL EXPRESSION OF MIRNAS HAS BEEN REPORTED IN SEVERAL INFLAMMATORY AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES; HOWEVER, THEIR ROLE IN BD IS NOT FULLY ELUCIDATED. WE AIMED TO IDENTIFY MIRNA EXPRESSION SIGNATURES ASSOCIATED WITH BD AND TO INVESTIGATE THEIR POTENTIAL IMPLICATION IN THE DISEASE PATHOGENESIS. METHODS: MIRNA MICROARRAY ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED IN BLOOD CELLS OF BD PATIENTS AND HEALTHY CONTROLS. MIRNA EXPRESSION PROFILES WERE ANALYZED USING AFFYMETRIX ARRAYS WITH A COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE OF MIRNA SEQUENCES. PATHWAY ANALYSES WERE PERFORMED, AND THE GLOBAL MIRNA PROFILING WAS COMBINED WITH TRANSCRIPTOMA DATA IN BD. DEREGULATION OF SELECTED MIRNAS WAS VALIDATED BY REAL-TIME PCR. RESULTS: WE IDENTIFIED SPECIFIC MIRNA SIGNATURES ASSOCIATED WITH BD PATIENTS WITH ACTIVE DISEASE. THESE MIRNAS TARGET PATHWAYS RELEVANT IN BD, SUCH AS TNF, IFN GAMMA, AND VEGF-VEGFR SIGNALING CASCADES. NETWORK ANALYSIS REVEALED SEVERAL MIRNAS REGULATING HIGHLY CONNECTED GENES WITHIN THE BD TRANSCRIPTOMA. CONCLUSIONS: THE COMBINED ANALYSIS OF DEREGULATED MIRNAS AND BD TRANSCRIPTOME SHEDS LIGHT ON SOME EPIGENETIC ASPECTS OF BD IDENTIFYING SPECIFIC MIRNAS, WHICH MAY REPRESENT PROMISING CANDIDATES AS BIOMARKERS AND/OR FOR THE DESIGN OF NOVEL THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES IN BD. 2018 13 1565 25 DNA METHYLATION OF T LYMPHOCYTES AS A THERAPEUTIC TARGET: IMPLICATIONS FOR RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS ETIOLOGY. RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA) IS AN AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE THAT CAN CAUSE JOINT DAMAGE AND DISABILITY. EPIGENETIC VARIATION, ESPECIALLY DNA METHYLATION, HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE INVOLVED IN ALMOST ALL THE STAGES OF THE PATHOLOGY OF RA, FROM AUTOANTIBODY PRODUCTION TO VARIOUS SELF-EFFECTOR T CELLS AND THE DEFECTS OF PROTECTIVE T CELLS THAT CAN LEAD TO CHRONIC INFLAMMATION AND EROSION OF BONES AND JOINTS. GIVEN THE CRITICAL ROLE OF T CELLS IN THE PATHOLOGY OF RA, THE REGULATORY FUNCTIONS OF DNA METHYLATION IN T CELL BIOLOGY REMAIN UNCLEAR. IN THIS REVIEW, WE ELABORATE ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RA PATHOGENESIS AND DNA METHYLATION IN THE CONTEXT OF DIFFERENT T CELL POPULATIONS. WE SUMMARIZE THE RELEVANT METHYLATION EVENTS IN T CELL DEVELOPMENT, DIFFERENTIATION, AND T CELL-RELATED GENES IN DISEASE PREDICTION AND DRUG EFFICACY. UNDERSTANDING THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF T CELLS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PROFOUNDLY TRANSLATE PRECLINICAL RESULTS INTO CLINICAL PRACTICE AND PROVIDE A FRAMEWORK FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL, INDIVIDUALIZED RA THERAPEUTICS. 2022 14 3949 24 LNCRNAS IN T LYMPHOCYTES: RNA REGULATION AT THE HEART OF THE IMMUNE RESPONSE. GENOME-WIDE ANALYSES IN THE LAST DECADE HAVE UNCOVERED THE PRESENCE OF A LARGE NUMBER OF LONG NON-PROTEIN-CODING TRANSCRIPTS THAT SHOW HIGHLY TISSUE- AND STATE-SPECIFIC EXPRESSION PATTERNS. HIGH-THROUGHPUT SEQUENCING ANALYSES IN DIVERSE SUBSETS OF IMMUNE CELLS HAVE REVEALED A COMPLEX AND DYNAMIC EXPRESSION PATTERN FOR THESE LONG NONCODING RNAS (LNCRNAS) THAT CORRELATE WITH THE FUNCTIONAL STATES OF IMMUNE CELLS. ALTHOUGH THE VAST MAJORITY OF LNCRNAS EXPRESSED IN IMMUNE CELLS REMAIN UNSTUDIED, FUNCTIONAL STUDIES PERFORMED ON A SMALL SUBSET HAVE INDICATED THAT THEIR STATE-SPECIFIC EXPRESSIONS PATTERN FREQUENTLY HAS A REGULATORY IMPACT ON THE FUNCTION OF IMMUNE CELLS. IN VIVO AND IN VITRO STUDIES HAVE POINTED TO THE INVOLVEMENT OF LNCRNAS IN A WIDE VARIETY OF CELLULAR PROCESSES, INCLUDING BOTH THE INNATE AND ADAPTIVE IMMUNE RESPONSE THROUGH MECHANISMS RANGING FROM EPIGENETIC AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION TO SEQUESTRATION OF FUNCTIONAL MOLECULES IN SUBCELLULAR COMPARTMENTS. THIS REVIEW WILL FOCUS MAINLY ON THE ROLE OF LNCRNAS IN CD4(+) AND CD8(+) T CELLS, WHICH PLAY PIVOTAL ROLES IN ADAPTIVE IMMUNITY. RECENT STUDIES HAVE POINTED TO KEY PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS FOR LNCRNAS DURING SEVERAL DEVELOPMENTAL AND FUNCTIONAL STAGES OF THE LIFE CYCLE OF LYMPHOCYTES. ALTHOUGH LNCRNAS PLAY IMPORTANT PHYSIOLOGICAL ROLES IN LYMPHOCYTIC RESPONSE TO ANTIGENIC STIMULATION, DIFFERENTIATION INTO EFFECTOR CELLS, AND SECRETION OF CYTOKINES, THEIR DYSREGULATED EXPRESSION CAN PROMOTE OR SUSTAIN PATHOLOGICAL STATES SUCH AS AUTOIMMUNITY, CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, CANCER, AND VIREMIA. THIS, TOGETHER WITH THEIR HIGHLY CELL TYPE-SPECIFIC EXPRESSION PATTERNS, MAKES LNCRNAS IDEAL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS AND UNDERSCORES THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL STUDIES INTO THE ROLE OF THESE UNDERSTUDIED TRANSCRIPTS IN ADAPTIVE IMMUNE RESPONSE. 2021 15 4844 20 ONE YEAR IN REVIEW 2019: PATHOGENESIS OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS. RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA) IS A CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE INFLUENCED BY BOTH GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS. OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, PARTICULAR ATTENTION HAS BEEN GIVEN TO NOVEL GENES AND TO THE CLOSE INTERACTION BETWEEN GENETIC FACTORS AND EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. RESEARCH HAS ALSO FOCUSED ON THE INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ON DISEASE DEVELOPMENT, AND ON NEW MECHANISMS OF THE INNATE AND ADAPTIVE IMMUNE SYSTEM THAT CAN INFLUENCE THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF RA. HOWEVER, THERE ARE STILL SEVERAL ASPECTS OF THE DISEASE THAT NEED FURTHER INVESTIGATION. SHEDDING SOME LIGHT ON THE DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF RA PATHOGENESIS WILL HELP TO IMPROVE THE CURRENT DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS AND TO IDENTIFY NEW TARGETS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF DISEASE-MODIFYING THERAPIES. THUS, IN THIS REVIEW WE SUMMARISE THE NEW INSIGHTS IN RA PATHOGENESIS, RESULTING FROM LITERATURE RESEARCH DATA PUBLISHED IN THE LAST YEAR. 2019 16 4845 18 ONE YEAR IN REVIEW 2020: PATHOGENESIS OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS. RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA) IS A CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE INFLUENCED BY BOTH GENETIC, EPIGENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS. THE DISCOVERY OF NEW GENE POLYMORPHISMS AND THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY HAVE ADDED NEW ELEMENTS TO BETTER CLARIFY RA PATHOGENESIS. IN THE LAST YEAR, IMPORTANT ELEMENTS HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE OF MECHANISMS REGULATING INNATE AND ADAPTIVE IMMUNITY IN RA, LEADING TO DISCOVERING NEW TARGETS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF DISEASE-MODIFYING THERAPIES. THUS, IN THIS REVIEW WE SUMMARISE THE NEW INSIGHTS RESULTING FROM A LITERATURE RESEARCH DATA PUBLISHED IN THE LAST YEAR. 2020 17 2257 18 EPIGENETIC PERSPECTIVES IN SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS: PATHOGENESIS, BIOMARKERS, AND THERAPEUTIC POTENTIALS. SYSTEM LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS (SLE) IS A CHRONIC AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE CHARACTERIZED BY THE PRODUCTION OF AUTOANTIBODIES THAT CAUSE WIDESPREAD TISSUE DAMAGE. THE UNDERLYING ETIOLOGY REMAINS LARGELY UNKNOWN. ABERRANT EPIGENETICS PLAYS ESSENTIAL ROLES IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF SLE. THIS REVIEW EXPLORES THE LINKS BETWEEN DNA METHYLATION, HISTONE MODIFICATIONS, AND MIRNAS IN SLE AND HIGHLIGHTS HOW THESE FACTORS MAY INTERACT IN SLE PATHOGENESIS. WE ALSO DISCUSS HOW FURTHERING OUR KNOWLEDGE OF EPIGENETICS IN LUPUS PROVIDES HOPE FOR FINDING NEW DIAGNOSTIC AND PROGNOSTIC BIOMARKERS AND NOVEL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS AND STRATEGIES. 2010 18 2291 18 EPIGENETIC REGULATION IN PATHOLOGY OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS: A NOVEL PERSPECTIVE. ATHEROSCLEROSIS, CHARACTERIZED BY ATHEROSCLEROTIC PLAQUES, IS A COMPLEX PATHOLOGICAL PROCESS THAT INVOLVES DIFFERENT CELL TYPES AND CAN BE SEEN AS A CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASE. IN THE ADVANCED STAGE, THE RUPTURED ATHEROSCLEROTIC PLAQUE CAN INDUCE DEADLY ACCIDENTS INCLUDING ISCHEMIC STROKE AND MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION. EPIGENETICS REGULATION, INCLUDING DNA METHYLATION, HISTONE MODIFICATION, AND NON-CODING RNA MODIFICATION. MAINTAINS CELLULAR IDENTITY VIA AFFECTING THE CELLULAR TRANSCRIPTOME. THE EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION PROCESS, MEDIATING BY EPIGENETIC ENZYMES, IS DYNAMIC UNDER VARIOUS STIMULI, WHICH CAN BE REVERSELY ALTERED. RECENTLY, NUMEROUS STUDIES HAVE EVIDENCED THE CLOSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ATHEROSCLEROSIS AND EPIGENETIC REGULATIONS IN ATHEROSCLEROSIS, PROVIDING US WITH A NOVEL PERSPECTIVE IN RESEARCHING MECHANISMS AND FINDING NOVEL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS OF THIS SERIOUS DISEASE. HERE, WE CRITICALLY REVIEW THE RECENT DISCOVERIES BETWEEN EPIGENETIC REGULATION MECHANISMS IN ATHEROSCLEROSIS. 2021 19 5490 26 REVERSING T-CELL EXHAUSTION IN IMMUNOTHERAPY: A REVIEW ON CURRENT APPROACHES AND LIMITATIONS. INTRODUCTION:T CELL FUNCTIONS ARE ALTERED DURING CHRONIC VIRAL INFECTIONS AND TUMOR DEVELOPMENT. THIS IS MAINLY MANIFESTED BY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN T CELLS' EPIGENETIC AND METABOLIC LANDSCAPES, PUSHING THEM INTO AN 'EXHAUSTED' STATE. REVERSING THIS T CELL EXHAUSTION HAS BEEN EMERGING AS A 'GAME-CHANGING' THERAPEUTIC APPROACH AGAINST CANCER AND CHRONIC VIRAL INFECTION.AREAS COVERED:THIS REVIEW DISCUSSES THE CELLULAR PATHWAYS RELATED TO T CELL EXHAUSTION, AND THE CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT AND POSSIBLE CELLULAR TARGETS THAT CAN BE EXPLOITED THERAPEUTICALLY TO REVERSE THIS EXHAUSTION. WE SEARCHED VARIOUS DATABASES (E.G. GOOGLE SCHOLAR, PUBMED, ELSEVIER, AND OTHER SCIENTIFIC DATABASE SITES) USING THE KEYWORDS T CELL EXHAUSTION, T CELL ACTIVATION, CO-INHIBITORY RECEPTORS, AND REVERSING T CELL EXHAUSTION.EXPERT OPINION:THE DISCOVERY OF THE IMMUNE CHECKPOINTS PATHWAYS REPRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT MILESTONE TOWARD UNDERSTANDING AND REVERSING T CELL EXHAUSTION. ANTIBODIES THAT TARGET THESE PATHWAYS HAVE ALREADY DEMONSTRATED PROMISING ACTIVITIES IN REVERSING T CELL EXHAUSTION. NEVERTHELESS, THERE ARE STILL MANY ASSOCIATED LIMITATIONS. IN THIS CONTEXT, NEXT-GENERATION ALTERNATIVES ARE ON THE HORIZON. THIS INCLUDES THE USE OF SMALL MOLECULES TO BLOCK THE IMMUNE CHECKPOINTS' RECEPTORS, COMBINING THEM WITH OTHER TREATMENTS, AND IDENTIFYING NOVEL, SAFER AND MORE EFFECTIVE IMMUNOTHERAPEUTIC TARGETS. 2021 20 5596 20 ROLES OF HISTONE ACETYLATION MODIFIERS AND OTHER EPIGENETIC REGULATORS IN VASCULAR CALCIFICATION. VASCULAR CALCIFICATION (VC) IS CHARACTERIZED BY CALCIUM DEPOSITION INSIDE ARTERIES AND IS CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH THE MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS, CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE, DIABETES, AND OTHER CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES (CVDS). VC IS NOW WIDELY KNOWN TO BE AN ACTIVE PROCESS OCCURRING IN VASCULAR SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS (VSMCS) INVOLVING MULTIPLE MECHANISMS AND FACTORS. THESE MECHANISMS SHARE FEATURES WITH THE PROCESS OF BONE FORMATION, SINCE THE PHENOTYPE SWITCHING FROM THE CONTRACTILE TO THE OSTEOCHONDROGENIC PHENOTYPE ALSO OCCURS IN VSMCS DURING VC. IN ADDITION, VC CAN BE REGULATED BY EPIGENETIC FACTORS, INCLUDING DNA METHYLATION, HISTONE MODIFICATION, AND NONCODING RNAS. ALTHOUGH VC IS COMMONLY OBSERVED IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE AND CVD, SPECIFIC DRUGS FOR VC HAVE NOT BEEN DEVELOPED. THUS, DISCOVERING NOVEL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS MAY BE NECESSARY. IN THIS REVIEW, WE SUMMARIZE THE CURRENT EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE REGARDING THE ROLE OF EPIGENETIC REGULATORS INCLUDING HISTONE DEACETYLASES AND PROPOSE THE THERAPEUTIC IMPLICATION OF THESE REGULATORS IN THE TREATMENT OF VC. 2020