Ricerc@Sapienza

The functional role of cytosine methylation in the CpG moieties of DNA, is well established in several biological functions. The interplay between CpG methylation and hypomethylation is a well-known mechanism of modulation of gene expression. However, the role of non-CpG methylation and active dynamics of demethylation is not clearly recognized. Although some evidence exists of a role of active non-CpG demethylation in the fast dynamics of transcriptional activation in animals, few studies deal with this topic.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Unraveling the diet-epigenetics-neurodegeneration connection may disclose associated mechanisms and novel approaches to the neurodegenerative diseases. This review summarizes the basic concepts and the innovative results in this field focusing on the relevance of non-CpG methylation. RECENT FINDINGS: Many multifactorial neurodegenerative diseases are associated with epigenetic changes, and the brain seems more prone to epigenetic changes than other tissues.

Epigenetics regulate gene function without any alteration in the DNA sequence. The epigenetics represent one of the most important regulators in different cellular processes and have initially been developed in microorganisms as a protective strategy. The evaluation of the epigenetic mechanisms is also important in achieving an efficient control strategy in tuberculosis (TB). TB is one of the most significant epidemiological concerns in human history.

The short, non-coding RNAs, also called microRNAs (miRNAs) can bind complementary sequences on cellular mRNAs. The consequence of this binding is generally the degradation of mRNA and the inhibition of its translation. For this reason, miRNAs are included among the epigenetic factors acting as a modulator of gene expression. How miRNAs expression is, in turn, regulated is still the object of active investigation, but DNA methylation, another epigenetic modification, seems to play a central role in this sense.