Marija Kundakovic1. 1. Department of Biological Sciences, Fordham University, 441 E. Fordham Road, Larkin Hall, Room 160, Bronx, NY, 10458, USA. mkundakovic@fordham.edu.
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review discusses the current state of knowledge on sex differences in the epigenetic regulation in the brain and highlights its relevance for the environmental studies of brain and behavior. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent evidence shows that epigenetic mechanisms are involved in the control of brain sexual differentiation and in memory-enhancing effects of estradiol in females. In addition, several studies have implicated epigenetic dysregulation as an underlying mechanism for sex-specific neurobehavioral effects of environmental exposures. The area of sex-specific neurepigenetics has a great potential to improve our understanding of brain function in health and disease. Future neuropigenetic studies will require the inclusion of males and females and would ideally account for the fluctuating hormonal status in females which is likely to affect the epigenome. The implementation of cutting-edge methods that include epigenomic characterization of specific cell types using latest next-generation sequencing approaches will further advance the area.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review discusses the current state of knowledge on sex differences in the epigenetic regulation in the brain and highlights its relevance for the environmental studies of brain and behavior. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent evidence shows that epigenetic mechanisms are involved in the control of brain sexual differentiation and in memory-enhancing effects of estradiol in females. In addition, several studies have implicated epigenetic dysregulation as an underlying mechanism for sex-specific neurobehavioral effects of environmental exposures. The area of sex-specific neurepigenetics has a great potential to improve our understanding of brain function in health and disease. Future neuropigenetic studies will require the inclusion of males and females and would ideally account for the fluctuating hormonal status in females which is likely to affect the epigenome. The implementation of cutting-edge methods that include epigenomic characterization of specific cell types using latest next-generation sequencing approaches will further advance the area.
Entities:
Keywords:
Brain disorders; Environmental exposures; Epigenetics; Sex hormones; Sex-specific; Sexual differentiation
Authors: Bambarendage P U Perera; Christopher Faulk; Laurie K Svoboda; Jaclyn M Goodrich; Dana C Dolinoy Journal: Environ Mol Mutagen Date: 2019-06-20 Impact factor: 3.216
Authors: Sarah W Curtis; Sabrina A Gerkowicz; Dawayland O Cobb; Varun Kilaru; Metrecia L Terrell; M Elizabeth Marder; Dana Boyd Barr; Carmen J Marsit; Michele Marcus; Karen N Conneely; Alicia K Smith Journal: Epigenomics Date: 2020-06-04 Impact factor: 4.778