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Epigenetic Inheritance: Concepts, Mechanisms and Perspectives.

Irene Lacal1, Rossella Ventura2,3

  • 1Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.

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|October 17, 2018
PubMed
Summary

Parental stress can impact offspring health across generations through epigenetic inheritance. This study defines three types of epigenetics (direct, within-womb, and across-generations) to clarify these transgenerational effects.

Keywords:
epigeneticinheritancemethylationmicroRNApsychopathologystresstransgenerationaltransmission

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Area of Science:

  • Epigenetics and Transgenerational Inheritance
  • Developmental Biology
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Parental stressful experiences can increase offspring vulnerability to diseases, including psychopathologies, across multiple generations.
  • The mechanisms underlying this transgenerational influence are not fully understood, prompting investigation into epigenetic processes.
  • Existing literature on epigenetics lacks consensus on definitions and methodologies for studying epigenetic inheritance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To clarify and systematize concepts related to epigenetic processes and their inheritance.
  • To define and categorize different types of epigenetic changes.
  • To focus on epigenetic inheritance across generations (AIE) as a Lamarckian mechanism influencing human evolution.

Main Methods:

  • Detailed analysis of the dynamics of epigenetic changes over time.
  • Classification of epigenetic phenomena into direct epigenetics (DE), within-individual epigenetics (WIE), and across-individual epigenetics (AIE).
  • Review and discussion of molecular mechanisms (e.g., methylation, non-coding RNA) and methods for studying epigenetic inheritance.

Main Results:

  • Defined three distinct types of epigenetics: DE (within an individual's lifespan), WIE (during gestation), and AIE (across generations).
  • Identified AIE as a rapid information transmission route across generations, distinct from genetic inheritance.
  • Highlighted the roles of methylation and non-coding RNA (ncRNA) in epigenetic inheritance.

Conclusions:

  • The proposed categorization of epigenetic processes aids in organizing and understanding evidence of transgenerational effects.
  • Epigenetic inheritance across generations (AIE) offers a Lamarckian pathway for experience-dependent human evolution.
  • Further research is needed to address technical and theoretical challenges in studying epigenetic inheritance, with experimental and ethical considerations discussed.