Epigenetics of aging and disease: a brief overview

Abstract

Aging is an important risk factor for several human diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative disorders, resulting from a combination of genetic and environmental factors (e.g., diet, smoking, obesity and stress), which, at molecular level, cause changes in gene expression underlying the decline of physiological function. Epigenetics, which include mechanisms regulating gene expression independently of changes to DNA sequence, regulate gene expression by modulating the structure of chromatin or by regulating the binding of transcriptional machinery to DNA. Several studies showed that an impairment of epigenetic mechanisms promotes alteration of gene expression underlying several aging-related diseases. Alteration of these mechanisms is also linked with changes of gene expression that occurs during aging processes of different tissues. In this review, we will outline the potential role of epigenetics in the onset of two age-related pathologies, cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

Understanding the Potential Role of Sirtuin 2 on Aging: Consequences of SIRT2.3 Overexpression in Senescence

“…Nine hallmarks have been identified in the process of aging: genomic instability, telomere attrition, loss of proteostasis, epigenetic alterations, deregulated nutrient sensing, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, altered intercellular communication, and stem cell exhaustion [ 3 ]. Among them, epigenetic alterations represent a crucial mechanism behind the deteriorated cellular functions that can lead to changes in gene expression and are implicated in many age-related diseases [ 4 ]. One of the most studied is histone modification, which is characterized by post-translational changes at the N -terminal domains of histones.…”

Optimal Human Functioning Requires Exercise Across the Lifespan: Mobility in a 1g Environment Is Intrinsic to the Integrity of Multiple Biological Systems

“…While there are limitations to the current findings, they are encouraging regarding exercise and disease risks (i.e., heart disease and cancer) and the transgenerational influences of such modifications-the latter may be contributed by both parents (Ashe and Khan, 2004;Ahuja et al, 2017;Denham, 2018;Axsom and Libonati, 2019). Furthermore, some epigenetic changes occur during aging (Pal and Tyler, 2016;Pagiatakis et al, 2019), so the effectiveness of exercise at the epigenetic level may be influenced by the age that it is implemented and sustained-potentially a life-long chronic exercise routine will be best.…”

Haematopoietic ageing through the lens of single-cell technologies

“…The ageing process is also responsible for the alteration of the chromatin structure and the epigenetic signature within HSCs. Epigenetics refers to all mechanisms regulating gene expression independent of the DNA sequence ( Pagiatakis et al, 2019 ). Epigenetic changes associated with ageing include changes in DNA methylation, reorganisation of chromatin ( Moskowitz et al, 2017 ; Ucar et al, 2017 ) and post-translational modifications of histones ( Pal and Tyler, 2016 ) ( Fig.…”

“…2 ). Over the past decade, several studies strongly implicated epigenetic mechanisms in the dysregulation of gene expression that is observed during the ageing process ( Pagiatakis et al, 2019 ). Ageing in somatic tissues is linked to global hypomethylation of DNA ( Gonzalo, 2010 ).…”