Epigenetics: Recent Advances and Its Role in the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease

• Published in: Frontiers in neurology Vol. 11; p. 538301
• Main Authors: Xiao, Xuewen, Liu, Xixi, Jiao, Bin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A 15.10.2020
• Subjects: Alzheiemer's disease; DNA hydroxymethylation; DNA methylation; epigenetic; histone modifications; Neurology; non-coding RNA (ncRNA)
• ISSN: 1664-2295; 1664-2295
• DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2020.538301

Objective: This review summarizes recent findings on the epigenetics of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and provides therapeutic strategies for AD. Methods: We searched the following keywords: “genetics,” “epigenetics,” “Alzheimer's disease,” “DNA methylation,” “DNA hydroxymethylation,” “histone modifications,” “non-coding RNAs,” and “therapeutic strategies” in PubMed. Results: In this review, we summarizes recent studies of epigenetics in AD, including DNA methylation/hydroxymethylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNAs. There are no consistent results of global DNA methylation/hydroxymethylation in AD. Epigenetic genome-wide association studies show that many differentially methylated sites exist in AD. Several studies investigate the role of histone modifications in AD; for example, histone acetylation decreases, whereas H3 phosphorylation increases significantly in AD. In addition, non-coding RNAs, such as microRNA-16 and BACE1-antisense transcript ( BACE1-AS ), are associated with the pathology of AD. These epigenetic changes provide us with novel insights into the pathogenesis of AD and may be potential therapeutic strategies for AD. Conclusion: Epigenetics is associated with the pathogenesis of AD, including DNA methylation/hydroxymethylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNAs, which provide potential therapeutic strategies for AD.