Mechanotransduction and epigenetic control in autoimmune diseases

Differentiation of epithelial cells is required to define tissue architecture and appropriate function of these cells is associated with a specific pattern of gene expression. DNA methylation, post-translational modification of histones and chromatin remodeling are nuclear mechanisms implicated in epigenetic control of gene expression. All factors relevant to tissue differentiation, including cell adhesion and shape, extracellular stimuli and transcriptional control, modulate gene expression and, thus, some of them are likely to impact on nuclear mechanisms of epigenetic control. The epithelial cells of salivary glands from Sjögren's syndrome patients display alterations in cell adhesion and shape. In this review, we summarize how these alterations are thought to lead to chromatin remodeling and, in doing so, bring about changes in transcriptional patterns. Additionally, we discuss how mechanotransduction in cells with impaired structural organization is implicated in modifying gene expression in these patients.