Do Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance and Immune System Development Share Common Epigenetic Processes?

ABSTRACT: Epigenetic modifications regulate gene expression for development, immune response, disease, and other processes. A major role of epigenetics is to control the dynamics of chromatin structure, i.e., the condensed packaging of DNA around histone proteins in eukaryotic nuclei. Key epigenetic factors include enzymes for histone modifications and DNA methylation, non-coding RNAs, and prions. Epigenetic modifications are heritable but during embryonic development, most parental epigenetic marks are erased and reset. Interestingly, some epigenetic modifications, that may be resulting from immune response to stimuli, can escape remodeling and transmit to subsequent generations who are not exposed to those stimuli. This phenomenon is called transgenerational epigenetic inheritance if the epigeneti

SUBMITTER: Sen R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8162332 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature