植物化学物与糖尿病的表观遗传调节

表观遗传(epigenetics)是指DNA序列不发生变化,但基因表达却发生了可遗传的改变。在细胞分裂时,表观遗传能影响正常基因的遗传表型,从而影响疾病发生。糖尿病是当今严重危害人类健康的疾病之一,许多营养物质与其发生有关系,其中,一些植物化学物能通过表观遗传机制影响糖尿病及其并发症的发生。本文就近年来与糖尿病有关的表观遗传机制的研究及与之有关的植物化学物的研究进展做一综述。

Relationship between phytochemicals and the epigenetic regulation of diabetes

Epigenetics is heritable changes in gene that are not caused by changes in the DNA sequence. When cells divide, epigenetics can affect the genetic phenotypes of normal genes, which affect the occurrence of diseases. Diabetes is one of the diseases posing a serious threat to human health. Many nutrients are associ- ated with the occurrence of diabetes. Among them, some phytochemicals can affect the incidence of diabetes and its complications through epigenetic mechanisms. In this paper, the recent studies on epigenetic mecha- nisms associated with diabetes and related research progress of phytochemicals have been reviewed.