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Elucidation of Epigenetic Landscape in Coronary Artery Disease: A Review on Basic Concept to Personalized Medicine
Mamta P Sumi1, Bhawna Mahajan1,2, Real Sumayya Abdul Sattar1
1Central Molecular Laboratory, Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (GIPMER), University of Delhi, New Delhi, India.
Insights
Epigenetic modifications are crucial in coronary artery diseases (CAD). Understanding these changes offers new diagnostic and therapeutic targets for precision medicine to improve patient outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Research
- Epigenetics
- Precision Medicine
Background:
- Coronary artery diseases (CAD) remain a leading cause of global mortality despite extensive research.
- Precision medicine approaches are needed to identify novel targets for improved CAD diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.
- Epigenetic alterations, including DNA/histone modifications and non-coding RNAs, significantly influence disease onset and progression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the role of epigenetics in coronary artery diseases.
- To highlight recent advancements in epigenetic research relevant to CAD.
- To discuss the future implications of epigenetics in personalized CAD medicine.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on epigenetics and CAD.
- Discussion of molecular techniques for identifying epigenetic modifications (e.g., next-generation sequencing, ChIP, mass spectrometry).
- Analysis of factors influencing epigenetic alterations (e.g., lifestyle, environment).
Main Results:
- Epigenetic studies have identified numerous diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets for various diseases.
- Specific epigenetic mechanisms like DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNAs are implicated in CAD.
- Lifestyle and environmental factors significantly impact epigenetic profiles relevant to cardiovascular health.
Conclusions:
- Epigenetics plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of coronary artery diseases.
- Exploring epigenetic modifications provides opportunities for developing personalized diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for CAD.
- Further research into the epigenetic landscape of CAD is essential for advancing precision cardiovascular medicine.
Abstract:
Despite extensive clinical research and management protocols applied in the field of coronary artery diseases (CAD), it still holds the number 1 position in mortality worldwide. This indicates that we need to work on precision medicine to discover the diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic targets to improve the outcome of CAD. In precision medicine, epigenetic changes play a vital role in disease onset and progression. Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes that do not affect the alterations of DNA sequence in the genome. It comprises various covalent modifications that occur in DNA or histone proteins affecting the spatial arrangement of the DNA and histones. These multiple modifications include DNA/histone methylation, acetylation, phosphorylation, and SUMOylation. Besides these covalent modifications, non-coding RNAs-viz. miRNA, lncRNA, and circRNA are also involved in epigenetics. Smoking, alcohol, diet, environmental pollutants, obesity, and lifestyle are some of the prime factors affecting epigenetic alterations. Novel molecular techniques such as next-generation sequencing, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and mass spectrometry have been developed to identify important cross points in the epigenetic web in relation to various diseases. The studies regarding exploration of epigenetics, have led researchers to identify multiple diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets that are being used in different disease diagnosis and management. Here in this review, we will discuss various ground-breaking contributions of past and recent studies in the epigenetic field in concert with coronary artery diseases. Future prospects of epigenetics and its implication in CAD personalized medicine will also be discussed in brief.
