TY - JOUR
T1 - Epigenetics in Necrotizing Enterocolitis
AU - Nair, Jayasree
AU - Maheshwari, Akhil
N1 - Funding Information:
National Institutes of Health awards HL124078 and HL133022 to AM.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Bentham Science Publishers.
PY - 2021/8
Y1 - 2021/8
N2 - Epigenetic alterations in our genetic material can lead to heritable changes in the risk, clinical manifestations, course, and outcomes of many diseases. Understanding these epigenetic mechanisms can help in identifying potential therapeutic targets. This is especially important in necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), where prenatal as well as postnatal factors impact susceptibility to this devastating condition, but our therapeutic options are limited. Developmental factors affecting intestinal structure and function, our immune system, gut microbiome, and postnatal enteral nutrition are all thought to play a prominent role in this disease. In this manuscript, we have reviewed the epigenetic mechanisms involved in NEC. These include key developmental changes in DNA methylation in the immature intestine, the role of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) in maintaining intestinal barrier function, epigenetic influences of prenatal inflammation on immunological pathways in NEC pathogenesis such as Toll-Like Receptor 4 (TLR4) and epigenetic changes associated with enteral feeding causing upregulation of pro-inflammatory genes. We have assimilated research findings from our own laboratory with an extensive review of the literature utilizing key terms in multiple databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, and Science Direct.
AB - Epigenetic alterations in our genetic material can lead to heritable changes in the risk, clinical manifestations, course, and outcomes of many diseases. Understanding these epigenetic mechanisms can help in identifying potential therapeutic targets. This is especially important in necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), where prenatal as well as postnatal factors impact susceptibility to this devastating condition, but our therapeutic options are limited. Developmental factors affecting intestinal structure and function, our immune system, gut microbiome, and postnatal enteral nutrition are all thought to play a prominent role in this disease. In this manuscript, we have reviewed the epigenetic mechanisms involved in NEC. These include key developmental changes in DNA methylation in the immature intestine, the role of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) in maintaining intestinal barrier function, epigenetic influences of prenatal inflammation on immunological pathways in NEC pathogenesis such as Toll-Like Receptor 4 (TLR4) and epigenetic changes associated with enteral feeding causing upregulation of pro-inflammatory genes. We have assimilated research findings from our own laboratory with an extensive review of the literature utilizing key terms in multiple databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, and Science Direct.
KW - Epigenetics
KW - Gut inflammation
KW - Histone modification
KW - Methylation
KW - Necrotizing enterocolitis
KW - Nutrigenomics
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U2 - 10.2174/1573396317666210421110608
DO - 10.2174/1573396317666210421110608
M3 - Review article
C2 - 33882811
AN - SCOPUS:85106355586
SN - 1573-3963
VL - 17
SP - 172
EP - 184
JO - Current Pediatric Reviews
JF - Current Pediatric Reviews
IS - 3
ER -