What does the latest research say about epigenetics? You can research the effects of the amount of stress, sleep, exercise, smoking, violence, etc...have on the expression of our genes. Include what happens to certain genes and any diseases associated with them.
Blog – Epigenetics
ReplyDeleteModification in epigenomes influence development, aging and diseases countless some, that are being recently understood by scientists. “Geneticist and biostatistician Steve Horvath of the University of California, Los Angeles, has shown that DNA methylation can be used to accurately measure tissue age in samples from different individuals and cell types.” He designed a predictor that accurately estimated the age of healthy tissues. Horvath found out that cancer tissue have an average methylation age that is 36 years older than the normal tissue. He also showed that before the age of 20, the changes in DNA methylation occur faster than after 20. [Abby Olena October 22, 2013]1
“Smoking plays a role in lung cancer development, and now scientists have shown that smoking also affects the way genes are expressed, leading to alterations in cell division and regulation of immune response.” Scientists conducted an experiment in Lombardy, Italy researching gene expression in early – stage lung tumor tissues and non-tumorous lung tissue. The experiment was conducted with 74 participants of ages 44 – 79. Between the participants 28 were current smokers, 26 were former smokers, and 20 had never smoked. After the experiment was concluded the researches found that 135 genes were expressed differently in tumors of smokers against people who had never smoked. [National Institute of Health, February 19th, 2008]2
“"Pouchitis" developing after surgery for ulcerative colitis (UC) is associated with changes in gene expression, which increase along with disease severity.” Researchers found that gene expression changes on some patients who had undergone the surgery for ulcerative colitis with Pouchitis. Researches found that people with normal UC, which had not undergone the surgery had no changes in gene expression. On the other hand, patients with UC that had undergone the operation had nearly 170 significant changes in gene expression that were found in samples of tissue from the surgically created pouch -- even though the tissue still appeared normal. Even more drastically, on patients who seemed to have inflammations and other signs of Pouchitis had more than 500 changes in gene expression and gene abnormality. For the patients who developed “Crohn’s – like” changes in the pouch tissue, the gene abnormalities would sky to more than 1,000. [Wolters Kluwer Health: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, October 10, 2013]3
Bibliography
1. Clocking Epigenetics:
http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/37960/title/Clocking-Epigenetics/
2. Smoking’s Effects on Genes May Play a Role in Lung Cancer Development and Survival: http://www.nih.gov/news/health/feb2008/nci-19.htm
3. Pouchitis after Ulcerative Colitis Surgery Linked to Changes in Gene Expression: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131010104807.htm
How we turn out as a human depends on our DNA, what we are made of and how we are made, but there is still the factor of epigenetics to consider. Epigenetics can change how the DNA is read in your body, you can inherit one to two percent of your parents epigenetic tags, and the way you live your life dramatically affects the epigenetic tags as well. Some factors that play into your epigenetic alterations are changes or habits from your physical life, symptoms of our emotional selves, and side effects from our social lives. Environmental factors like stress, sleep, smoking, violence, exercise, etc., can affect us in so many different ways, sometimes causing mild health problems, to changing physical features, to brining in symptoms of major diseases, like even cancer [Chris Bell, Oct. 16, 2013]1.
ReplyDeleteStress, for example, is a topic of much research and discovery in the sense that stress levels can greatly affect how you react to situations later on in life. It can aggravate any underlying health problems you have, it can also change the way your children and grandchildren react to situations or if they have any health problems of their own, aggravate those as well. All this because of that one time you got stressed out over an entire year of college, it affected you greatly and will not stop affecting your decedents either if it is passed on. Stress can make us feel terrible emotionally, but it also can exacerbate any health condition you can think of. It seems to worsen or increase the risk of many conditions like obesity, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, depression, gastrointestinal problems, and asthma [R Morgan Griffin, May 03, 2010]3.
A 2010 study of 100 citizens of Detroit, Michigan showed that 23 of them suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. The researchers were looking for patterns of methyl groups, made of carbon and hydrogen, which can affix themselves to genes and switch them off. The PTSD sufferers had six to seven times more genes without these methyl groups than all the other subjects did. Most of those genes were involved in the immune system. The ones that suffered from extreme stress also had higher levels of anti-bodies to herpes virus, further evidence of a compromised immune system [thevisualMD, 2010-2013]2.
There is also more and more evidence that certain cancers are caused by misplaced epigenetic tags, and scientists are developing new drugs to silence the bad genes, which should have been silenced in the first place. So a team of molecular biologists at Temple University, in Philadelphia, is currently investigating an ingenious potential alternative to traditional chemotherapy. The process would be to begin treating cancer patients with drugs that “reprogram” cancer cells by reconfiguring the epigenetic markers, instead of the harmful radiation and chemotherapy that is used now [Chris Bell, Oct. 16, 2013]1.
Sources
1: " Epigenetics: How to alter your genes.” The Telegraph. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2013. .
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/10369861/Epigenetics-How-to-alter-your-genes.html
2. “Part 1: What Stress Does to Genes.” thevisualMD. N.p.,n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2013.
http://www.thevisualmd.com/health_centers/wellness/manage_your_stress/your_genes_are_affected_by_stress
3. “10 Health Problems Related to Stress you can Fix.” WebMD. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2013.
http://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/features/10-fixable-stress-related-health-problems
Stress, as well as exposure to lead, can alter the epigenetic signaling in DNA. Stress causes oxidation, and the base G in DNA is vulnerable to oxidation. This can alter the DNA and can cause degenerative diseases in the brain, like Alzheimer’s.1 Environment and aging can affect the epigenetic expression of sleep apnea. 2 Exercise can affect the epigenetic patterns related to fat storage, the more exercise, the faster burning of fat. 3 Tobacco from smoking can alter the epigenetic and genetic function of genes that is known to cause cancer.4 Early exposure to violence can make the subject to the violence develop epigenetic patterns which may cause depression and inability to deal with stress.5
ReplyDeleteSources
1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2673453/
2. http://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/rccm.201111-2028ED#.UnPv-HCmiSp
3. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130703101344.htm
4. http://news.sciencemag.org/2012/12/smoking-smothers-your-genes
5.http://www.moffittcaspi.com/sites/moffittcaspi.com/files/field/publication_uploads/G_Mill_Childhood_violence_ex%20changes_April_2012.pdf
(Revised)
ReplyDeleteStress, can alter the epigenetic signaling in DNA. Stress causes oxidation in the human body, and the base G in DNA is vulnerable to oxidation. This can alter the DNA sequence and can cause degenerative diseases in the brain, like Alzheimer’s, as well as opening the door to many other genetic diseases.1
Environment and aging can affect the epigenetic expression of sleep apnea. People who have poor sleeping habits may increase their own chance to develop the disease of sleep apnea, as well as increase the chance of their descendants having it. 2
Exercise can affect the epigenetic patterns related to fat storage, the more exercise, the faster burning of fat. People who do not exercise will activate the epigenetic tags which will lead them to have poor fat storage in their bodies, leading them to gain weight more quickly. They might also pass on that epigenetic tag to their children. Those who do exercise will have a more efficient fat storage in their bodies, leading them and possibly their children to gain weight slower and burn fat faster. 3
Tobacco from smoking can alter the epigenetic and genetic function of genes that is known to cause cancer. Many molecules in tobacco smoke can rearrange the sequence of DNA and epigenetic tags, and these changes may lead to an out of control cell growth, cancer.4
Early exposure to violence can make the subject to the violence develop epigenetic patterns which may cause depression and inability to deal with stress. A child who grows up in an abusive home will deal poorly with stress in the future and will be prone to depression, not only because of psychological reasons, but epigenetic reasons too. They will possibly pass this on to their offspring.5
Sources
1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2673453/
2. http://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/rccm.201111-2028ED#.UnPv-HCmiSp
3. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130703101344.htm
4. http://news.sciencemag.org/2012/12/smoking-smothers-your-genes
5.http://www.moffittcaspi.com/sites/moffittcaspi.com/files/field/publication_uploads/G_Mill_Childhood_violence_ex%20changes_April_2012.pdf