Role of genetic and environmental factors in DNA methylation of lipid metabolism

Zhen He; Rong Zhang; Feng Jiang; Wenjing Hou; Cheng Hu

doi:10.1016/j.gendis.2017.11.005

Role of genetic and environmental factors in DNA methylation of lipid metabolism

Genes Dis. 2017 Nov 24;5(1):9-15. doi: 10.1016/j.gendis.2017.11.005. eCollection 2018 Mar.

Authors

Zhen He¹, Rong Zhang¹, Feng Jiang¹, Wenjing Hou², Cheng Hu^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Shanghai Diabetes Institute, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Diabetes Mellitus, Shanghai Clinical Center for Diabetes, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai, China.
² Fengxian Central Hospital, Affiliated to Southern Medical University, 6600 Nanfeng Road, Shanghai, 201499, China.
³ Institute for Metabolic Diseases, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital South Campus, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

A number of recent studies revealed that DNA methylation plays a central role in the regulation of lipid metabolism. DNA methylation modifications are important regulators of transcriptional networks that do not affect the DNA sequence and can translate genetic variants and environmental factors into phenotypic traits. Therefore, elucidating the factors that underlie inter-individual DNA methylation variations gives us an opportunity to predict diseases and interfere with the establishment of aberrant DNA methylation early. In this review, we summarize the findings of DNA methylation-related studies focused on unravelling the potential role of genetic and environmental factors in DNA methylation and the regulatory effect of DNA methylation on gene expression in lipid metabolism.

Keywords: DNA methylation; Environmental exposure; Gene expression; Genetic variations; Lipid metabolism.

Publication types

Review