Epigenetics Insights, Volume 16, Issue , January-December 2023. Early diets in honeybees have effects on epigenome with consequences on their phenotype. Depending on the early larval diet, either royal jelly (RJ) or royal worker, 2 different female castes are generated from identical genomes, a long-lived queen with fully developed ovaries and a short-lived functionally sterile worker. To generate these prominent physiological and morphological differences between queen and worker, honeybees utilize epigenetic mechanisms which are controlled by nutritional input. These mechanisms include DNA m ..read more

Epigenetics Insights, Volume 16, Issue , January-December 2023. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a complex autoimmune disorder of the CNS that affects millions of people worldwide. The causes of the disease remain unknown despite extensive efforts to understand it. CircRNAs are a unique class of endogenous non-coding RNA that are abundant, stable, conserved, and specifically expressed molecules, making them a promising biomarker of diseases. This review investigates the role of circRNA in MS pathogenicity and their potential as a biomarker through a comprehensive literature search conducted in 8 sci ..read more

Epigenetics Insights, Volume 16, Issue , January-December 2023. Epigenetic changes may be biomarkers of health. Epigenetic age acceleration (EAA), the discrepancy between epigenetic age measured via epigenetic clocks and chronological age, is associated with morbidity and mortality. However, the intersection of epigenetic clocks with microRNAs (miRNAs) and corresponding miRNA-based health implications have not been evaluated. We analyzed DNA methylation and miRNA profiles from blood sampled among 332 individuals enrolled across 2 U.S.-based firefighter occupational studies (2015-2018 and 2018 ..read more

Epigenetics Insights, Volume 16, Issue , January-December 2023. Background:Epigenetics studies the impact of environmental and behavioral factors on stable phenotypic changes; however, the state of the science examining epigenomic mechanisms of regulation related to secondary health conditions (SHCs) and neuroepigenetics in chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) remain markedly underdeveloped.Objective:This scoping review seeks to understand the state of the science in epigenetics and secondary complications following SCI.Methods:A literature search was conducted, yielding 277 articles. The inclusio ..read more

Epigenetics Insights, Volume 16, Issue , January-December 2023. Background:Alterations in DNA methylation play an important role in cancer development and progression. Dietary nutrients and lifestyle behaviors can influence DNA methylation patterns and thereby modulate cancer risk.Introduction:To comprehensively review available evidence on how dietary and lifestyle factors impact DNA methylation and contribute to carcinogenesis through epigenetic mechanisms.Materials and methods:A literature search was conducted using PubMed to identify relevant studies published between 2005 and 2022 that ex ..read more

Epigenetics Insights, Volume 16, Issue , January-December 2023. Background:The global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). About 18.4% of total Covid-19 cases were reported in children. Even though vertical transmission from mother to infant is likely to occur at a low rate, exposure to COVID-19 during fetal life may alter DNA methylation patterns with potential long-term effects.Objective:To determine if COVID-19 infection during pregnancy alters the DNA methylation patterns in umbilical cord blood cells fro ..read more

Epigenetics Insights, Volume 15, Issue , January-December 2022. MicroRNA(miRNA)s have been identified as an emerging class for therapeutic interventions mainly due to their extracellularly stable presence in humans and animals and their potential for horizontal transmission and action. However, treating Type 2 diabetes mellitus using this technology has yet been in a nascent state. MiRNAs play a significant role in the pathogenesis of Type 2 diabetes mellitus establishing the potential for utilizing miRNA-based therapeutic interventions to treat the disease. Recently, the administration of miR ..read more

Epigenetics Insights, Volume 15, Issue , January-December 2022. Introduction:Experiencing psychosocial stress is associated with poor health outcomes such as hypertension and obesity, which are risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease. African American women experience disproportionate risk for cardiovascular disease including exposure to high levels of psychosocial stress. We hypothesized that psychosocial stress, such as perceived stress overload, may influence epigenetic marks, specifically DNA methylation (DNAm), that contribute to increased risk for cardiovascular disease in Afr ..read more

Epigenetics Insights, Volume 15, Issue , January-December 2022. The SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex uses the energy of ATP hydrolysis to alter contacts between DNA and nucleosomes, allowing regions of the genome to become accessible for biological processes such as transcription. The SWI/SNF chromatin remodeler is also one of the most frequently altered protein complexes in cancer, with upwards of 20% of all cancers carrying mutations in a SWI/SNF subunit. Intense studies over the last decade have probed the molecular events associated with SWI/SNF dysfunction in cancer and common themes ..read more

Epigenetics Insights, Volume 15, Issue , January-December 2022. Toxicoepigenetics examines the health effects of environmental exposure associated with, or mediated by, changes in the epigenome. Despite high expectations, toxicoepigenomic data and methods have yet to become significantly utilized in chemical risk assessment. This article draws on a social science framework to highlight hitherto overlooked structural barriers to the incorporation of toxicoepigenetics in risk assessment and to propose ways forward. The present barriers stem not only from the lack of maturity of the field but als ..read more