表观遗传对炎症的调控机制及其在奶牛乳房炎抗病育种中的应用前景

炎症受遗传和非遗传因素(环境或表观遗传)的共同影响, 其中表观遗传(Epigenetic)在炎症的发生发展过程中发挥重要调控作用。表观遗传修饰是指DNA序列没有改变, 而基因表达却发生了可遗传的变化, 主要包括DNA甲基化和组蛋白修饰等。表观遗传为病原微生物与炎症反应间关系的研究架起了重要桥梁。炎症反应中T辅助细胞的分化, 细胞因子、趋化因子等基因的表达都受到表观遗传的调控。文章主要综述了DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰等对炎症尤其是乳房炎的调控机制, 并就表观遗传调控在奶牛乳房炎治疗及抗病育种中的应用前景进行了展望。     

植物衰老过程中的表观遗传学调控

植物衰老是由内外环境因子共同调节的,发生在细胞、组织、器官和个体等多个层面上的衰退和死亡过程,涉及基因表达、蛋白翻译和修饰水平变化以及多种细胞结构和代谢途径的变化,并与激素和生物/非生物胁迫的应答等过程形成复杂的调控网络。近年的研究表明,表观遗传修饰参与了对植物衰老过程的调节,是除经典遗传学以研究基因序列影响生物学功能之外在非核酸序列改变的情况下导致可遗传的基因表达变化的机制。本文综述了植物衰老过程中表观遗传调控的机理,包括染色质构象变化、DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰、ATP依赖的重构因子和非编码RNA介导的调控等,并对这一领域今后的发展方向进行了展望。     

表观遗传修饰在胰腺β细胞分化和功能中的作用

表观遗传是指在不改变DNA核苷酸序列的前提下,通过DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰和非编码RNA等形式引起基因表达的可遗传性改变,并参与多种生命过程。最新研究发现,多种表观遗传修饰形式可影响胰腺β细胞的发育和功能,从而导致糖代谢紊乱,在糖尿病的发生发展中起到了重要的作用。现将对β细胞分化与功能中的表观遗传调控机制进行综述。     

细胞自噬发生的表观遗传调节

细胞自噬是一种进化上保守的, 通过吞噬降解自身大分子物质或细胞器来维持细胞生存的活动。自噬与多种生命活动息息相关, 其功能的紊乱往往会导致肿瘤发生、神经退行性疾病、微生物感染等疾病。研究表明, 表观遗传修饰可以调控细胞自噬的发生, 并在细胞自噬的生物学功能调节过程中发挥重要作用, 但具体调控机制尚需进一步探究。文章综述了细胞自噬发生过程中存在的表观遗传效应, 包括组蛋白乙酰化对细胞自噬激活或抑制的负反馈调控, 通过DNA甲基化调节自噬相关基因活性来影响细胞自噬的发生, miRNA通过靶向调节自噬相关基因表达来影响组蛋白修饰, 从而调控细胞自噬的发生及作用过程等, 旨在为人们进一步研究细胞自噬发生过程中的表观遗传修饰及其机制提供信息依据。     

RNA修饰对长链非编码RNA的调控作用

长链非编码RNA (lncRNA)能在表观遗传、转录以及转录后水平上调控基因表达,与疾病的发生、发展和防治有着密切的联系。RNA修饰介导的表观转录组学调控是表观遗传的新领域,可以在转录后水平调控基因表达,并且可以作为一种重要的修饰手段对lncRNA进行调控。RNA修饰可以通过对lncRNA表达水平、剪切方式及二级结构的调控,影响各种生物学进程。现回顾和展望RNA修饰对lncRNA的调控作用和其潜在的生物学功能。     

表观遗传修饰在结核病发生发展中的作用

表观遗传学作为生命科学领域的研究热点之一,已有大量的研究证实表观遗传机制在肿瘤、自身免疫疾病等疾病中起着关键作用.表观遗传修饰在结核病中的研究刚刚起步,但已发现表观遗传修饰在结核分枝杆菌、宿主,以及结核分枝杆菌与宿主相互作用中均起着重要作用.表观遗传修饰能通过调控结核分枝杆菌基因表达或调控宿主表观基因组转录和免疫应答来影响结核分枝杆菌的生长和复制,进而影响结核病发生发展和转归.本文将对表观遗传修饰在结核分枝杆菌生长复制以及结核病发生发展中的作用进行综述,为寻找新的药物靶点、研发新型治疗策略提供科学依据.     

线粒体代谢介导的表观遗传改变与衰老研究

线粒体是细胞物质代谢与能量代谢的中心,在多种生理和病理过程中扮演着重要角色。表观遗传修饰是一种独立于DNA序列并在建立与维持特定基因表达谱中发挥主要作用的遗传调控模式。近年来的研究表明,线粒体能量代谢通过中间产物,介导线粒体–核信号的传递,调节染色质的表观修饰状态,进而影响基因表达。线粒体代谢紊乱可以诱导表观遗传重编程,进而启动衰老表型及退行性疾病的发生。本文综述了线粒体代谢与染色质表观遗传修饰关系的研究进展,探讨了线粒体应激在染色质重组中发挥的作用,展望了其在认知功能障碍等衰老相关性疾病研究中的前景。     

植物细胞分化过程中DNA甲基化及组蛋白修饰调控研究

在植物发育过程中,除了遗传调控激活或抑制基因表达来促进植物发育过程中细胞分化外,表观遗传学是另外一个重要的、复杂的调控层面,在该过程中通过DNA特异位点的甲基化,组蛋白的翻译后修饰改变染色质的状态,进而时空性调控植物发育调控因子的表达。分化细胞提供了一个研究组蛋白密码如何影响细胞命运功能强大的系统。本研究重点综述了表观遗传调控中DNA甲基化、组蛋白甲基化及组蛋白乙酰化在植物细胞分化中的调控作用。     

锰超氧化物歧化酶(MnSOD)表达与活性调控及其与肿瘤的关系

线粒体锰超氧化物歧化酶(MnSOD)是细胞中主要的抗氧化酶,其在清除细胞中活性氧自由基(ROS),应对细胞氧化应激及维持细胞正常生理代谢过程中起着重要作用。锰超氧化物歧化酶(MnSOD)基因表达以及蛋白活性受到多种途径调控,并与多种疾病的发生密切相关。本文介绍了锰超氧化物歧化酶(MnSOD)的生物学特性,并从锰超氧化物歧化酶(MnSOD)的转录调控、表观遗传调控以及翻译后修饰等方面,对锰超氧化物歧化酶(MnSOD)基因表达及活性调控机制研究进展进行了综述。     

表观遗传与microRNA相互调控机制以及在抗肿瘤领域内的应用

DNA甲基化和组蛋白修饰等表观遗传机制是恶性肿瘤发生发展的重要原因之一．然而近年来研究发现,microRNA表达水平改变也参与恶性肿瘤的形成．最新研究资料揭示,表观遗传可调控microRNA表达,而一些种类的microRNA也可调节表观遗传,并且二者之间相互作用可调控组织细胞内基因表达以及诱导体内恶性肿瘤产生．研究资料还显示,表观遗传主要通过DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰等方式调控microRNA表达,而microRNA则通过调节DNA甲基化转移酶、维持细胞中DNA甲基化水平或改变组蛋白修饰等途径调控表观遗传．对microRNA与表观遗传之间的调控关系以及在抗肿瘤领域内的应用进行全面而系统的论述．     

Enhanced targeted DNA methylation of the CMV and endogenous promoters with dCas9-DNMT3A3L entails distinct subsequent histone modification changes in CHO cells

With the emergence of new CRISPR/dCas9 tools that enable site specific modulation of DNA methylation and histone modifications, more detailed investigations of the contribution of epigenetic regulation to the precise phenotype of cells in culture, including recombinant production subclones, is now possible. These also allow a wide range of applications in metabolic engineering once the impact of such epigenetic modifications on the chromatin state is available.In this study, enhanced DNA methylation tools were targeted to a recombinant viral promoter (CMV), an endogenous promoter that is silenced in its native state in CHO cells, but had been reactivated previously (β-galactoside α-2,6-sialyltransferase 1) and an active endogenous promoter (α-1,6-fucosyltransferase), respectively. Comparative ChIP-analysis of histone modifications revealed a general loss of active promoter histone marks and the acquisition of distinct repressive heterochromatin marks after targeted methylation. On the other hand, targeted demethylation resulted in autologous acquisition of active promoter histone marks and loss of repressive heterochromatin marks. These data suggest that DNA methylation directs the removal or deposition of specific histone marks associated with either active, poised or silenced chromatin. Moreover, we show that de novo methylation of the CMV promoter results in reduced transgene expression in CHO cells. Although targeted DNA methylation is not efficient, the transgene is repressed, thus offering an explanation for seemingly conflicting reports about the source of CMV promoter instability in CHO cells.Importantly, modulation of epigenetic marks enables to nudge the cell into a specific gene expression pattern or phenotype, which is stabilized in the cell by autologous addition of further epigenetic marks. Such engineering strategies have the added advantage of being reversible and potentially tunable to not only turn on or off a targeted gene, but also to achieve the setting of a desirable expression level.     

Tackling the epigenome in the pluripotent stem cells

Embryonic stem cells are unique in their abilities of self-renewal and to differentiate into many, if not all, cellular lineages. Transcrip- tional regulation, epigenetic modifications and chromatin structures are the key modulators in controlling such pluripotency nature of embryonic stem cell genomes, particularly in the developmental decisions and the maintenance of cell fates. Among them, epigenetic regulation of gene expression is mediated partly by covalent modifications of core histone proteins including methylation, phosphoryla- tion and acetylation. Moreover, the chromatins in stem cell genome appear as a highly organized structure containing distinct functional domains. Recent rapid progress of new technologies enables us to take a global, unbiased and comprehensive view of the epigenetic modifications and chromatin structures that contribute to gene expression regulation and cell identity during diverse developmental stages. Here, we summarized the latest advances made by high throughput approaches in profiling epigenetic modifications and chromatin con- formations, with an emphasis on genome-wide analysis of histone modifications and their implications in pluripotency nature of embry- onic stem cells.     

RNA甲基化修饰调控和规律

表观遗传学修饰包括DNA、RNA和蛋白质的化学修饰,基于非序列改变所致基因表达和功能水平变化。近年来,在DNA和蛋白质修饰基础上,可逆RNA甲基化修饰研究引领了第3次表观遗传学修饰研究的浪潮。RNA存在100余种化学修饰,甲基化是最主要的修饰形式。鉴定RNA甲基化修饰酶及研发其转录组水平高通量检测技术,是揭示RNA化学修饰调控基因表达和功能规律的基础。本文主要总结了近年来本课题组与合作团队及国内外同行在RNA甲基化表观转录组学研究中取得的主要前沿进展,包括发现了RNA去甲基酶、甲基转移酶和结合蛋白,揭示RNA甲基化修饰调控RNA加工代谢,及其调控正常生理和异常病理等重要生命进程。这些系列研究成果证明RNA甲基化修饰类似于DNA甲基化,具有可逆性,拓展了RNA甲基化表观转录组学研究新领域,完善了中心法则表观遗传学规律。     

Epigenetics in C. elegans: facts and challenges

Epigenetics is defined as the study of heritable changes in gene expression that are not accompanied by changes in the DNA sequence. Epigenetic mechanisms include histone post-translational modifications, histone variant incorporation, non-coding RNAs, and nucleosome remodeling and exchange. In addition, the functional compartmentalization of the nucleus also contributes to epigenetic regulation of gene expression. Studies on the molecular mechanisms underlying epigenetic phenomena and their biological function have relied on various model systems, including yeast, plants, flies, and cultured mammalian cells. Here we will expose the reader to the current understanding of epigenetic regulation in the roundworm C. elegans. We will review recent models of nuclear organization and its impact on gene expression, the biological role of enzymes modifying core histones, and the function of chromatin-associated factors, with special emphasis on Polycomb (PcG) and Trithorax (Trx-G) group proteins. We will discuss how the C. elegans model has provided novel insight into mechanisms of epigenetic regulation as well as suggest directions for future research.     

表观遗传学研究方法进展

表观遗传调控是基因表达调控的重要组成部分,已成为当前研究的热点.目前其研究主要集中在DNA甲基化和组蛋白修饰.针对这两种表观修饰,其研究方法也取得了较太进展,一方面方法的是敏度和特异性都在不断提高;另一方面表现修饰的检测正在逐步从定性检测向定量分析方向发展,从个别位点向高通量检测发展.此外,新一代测序技术的应用特大大推动表观遗传研究的发展,包括单分子实时测序法、单分子纳米孔科序法等.综述目前常用的DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰研究方法以及最新的单分子测序技术,并对它们在表观遗传修饰检测中的应用作了简要对比分析.     

Mechanical regulation of epigenetics in vascular biology and pathobiology

Vascular endothelial cells (ECs) and smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are constantly exposed to haemodynamic forces, including blood flow‐induced fluid shear stress and cyclic stretch from blood pressure. These forces modulate vascular cell gene expression and function and, therefore, influence vascular physiology and pathophysiology in health and disease. Epigenetics, including DNA methylation, histone modification/chromatin remodelling and RNA‐based machinery, refers to the study of heritable changes in gene expression that occur without changes in the DNA sequence. The role of haemodynamic force‐induced epigenetic modifications in the regulation of vascular gene expression and function has recently been elucidated. This review provides an introduction to the epigenetic concepts that relate to vascular physiology and pathophysiology. Through the studies of gene expression, cell proliferation, angiogenesis, migration and pathophysiological states, we present a conceptual framework for understanding how mechanical force‐induced epigenetic modifications work to control vascular gene expression and function and, hence, the development of vascular disorders. This research contributes to our knowledge of how the mechanical environment impacts the chromatin state of ECs and VSMCs and the consequent cellular behaviours.