PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Epigenetic mechanisms have the ability to alter the phenotype without changing the genetic code. The science of epigenetics has grown considerably in recent years, and future epigenetically based treatments or prevention strategies are likely. Epigenetic associations with asthma have received growing interest because genetic and environmental factors have been unable to independently explain the cause of asthma. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent findings suggest that both the environment and underlying genetic sequence variation influence DNA methylation, which in turn seems to modify the risk conferred by genetic variants for various asthma phenotypes. In particular, DNA methylation may act as an archive of a variety of early developmental exposures, which then can modify the risk related to genetic variants. SUMMARY: Current asthma treatments may control the symptoms of asthma but do not modify its natural history. Epigenetic mechanisms and novel explanatory models provide burgeoning approaches to significantly increase our understanding of the initiation and progression of asthma. Due to the inheritance of epigenetics, we anticipate a rapid emergence of critical information that will provide novel treatment strategies for asthma in the current generation and ultimately the prevention of asthma in future generations.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Epigenetic mechanisms have the ability to alter the phenotype without changing the genetic code. The science of epigenetics has grown considerably in recent years, and future epigenetically based treatments or prevention strategies are likely. Epigenetic associations with asthma have received growing interest because genetic and environmental factors have been unable to independently explain the cause of asthma. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent findings suggest that both the environment and underlying genetic sequence variation influence DNA methylation, which in turn seems to modify the risk conferred by genetic variants for various asthma phenotypes. In particular, DNA methylation may act as an archive of a variety of early developmental exposures, which then can modify the risk related to genetic variants. SUMMARY: Current asthma treatments may control the symptoms of asthma but do not modify its natural history. Epigenetic mechanisms and novel explanatory models provide burgeoning approaches to significantly increase our understanding of the initiation and progression of asthma. Due to the inheritance of epigenetics, we anticipate a rapid emergence of critical information that will provide novel treatment strategies for asthma in the current generation and ultimately the prevention of asthma in future generations.
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Authors: Muhammad T Salam; Hyang-Min Byun; Fred Lurmann; Carrie V Breton; Xinhui Wang; Sandrah P Eckel; Frank D Gilliland Journal: J Allergy Clin Immunol Date: 2011-11-04 Impact factor: 10.793
Authors: Mary Beth Terry; Jennifer S Ferris; Richard Pilsner; Julie D Flom; Parisa Tehranifar; Regina M Santella; Mary V Gamble; Ezra Susser Journal: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev Date: 2008-09 Impact factor: 4.254
Authors: Eric L Greer; Travis J Maures; Duygu Ucar; Anna G Hauswirth; Elena Mancini; Jana P Lim; Bérénice A Benayoun; Yang Shi; Anne Brunet Journal: Nature Date: 2011-10-19 Impact factor: 49.962
Authors: Bethany A Buckley; Kirk B Burkhart; Sam Guoping Gu; George Spracklin; Aaron Kershner; Heidi Fritz; Judith Kimble; Andrew Fire; Scott Kennedy Journal: Nature Date: 2012-07-18 Impact factor: 49.962
Authors: Sonja Christensen; Zeina Jaffar; Elizabeth Cole; Virginia Porter; Maria Ferrini; Britten Postma; Kent E Pinkerton; Mihi Yang; Yang Jee Kim; Luke Montrose; Kevan Roberts; Andrij Holian; Yoon Hee Cho Journal: Environ Mol Mutagen Date: 2017-05-25 Impact factor: 3.216
Authors: G A Lockett; N Soto-Ramírez; M A Ray; T M Everson; C-J Xu; V K Patil; W Terry; A Kaushal; F I Rezwan; S L Ewart; U Gehring; D S Postma; G H Koppelman; S H Arshad; H Zhang; W Karmaus; J W Holloway Journal: Allergy Date: 2016-03-29 Impact factor: 13.146
Authors: Nandini Mukherjee; Gabrielle A Lockett; Simon K Merid; Erik Melén; Göran Pershagen; John W Holloway; Syed Hasan Arshad; Susan Ewart; Hongmei Zhang; Wilfried Karmaus Journal: Int J Mol Epidemiol Genet Date: 2016-03-23
Authors: Mitra Yousefi; Wilfried Karmaus; Hongmei Zhang; Susan Ewart; Hasan Arshad; John W Holloway Journal: Int J Mol Epidemiol Genet Date: 2013-06-25
Authors: Gabrielle A Lockett; Veeresh K Patil; Nelís Soto-Ramírez; Ali H Ziyab; John W Holloway; Wilfried Karmaus Journal: Epigenomics Date: 2013-12 Impact factor: 4.778