Title:Diabetes-induced Epigenetic Signature in Vascular Cells
Volume: 12
Issue: 2
Author(s): Tijana Mitic and Costanza Emanueli
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Diabetes, DNA methyaltion and vascular complications, epigenetics, histone modifications
Abstract: Vascular dysfunction is a common consequence of diabetes mellitus. Stable propagation of gene expression
from cell to cell generation during development of diseases (like diabetes) is regulated by epigenetic mechanisms. These
are heritable patterns of gene expression that cannot solely be explained by changes in DNA sequence. Recent evidence
shows that diabetes-induced epigenetic changes can affect gene expression in vascular endothelial cells and vascular
smooth muscles cells. Such effects further influence inflammatory and insulin production pathways in these cells and thus
ensure a long-term memory, whereby epigenetic changes are maintained even long after restoring normo-glycaemic
conditions by appropriate therapeutic approaches. This review focuses on the epigenetic marks, which endure on the
vascular chromatin under diabetic conditions.
