外周血细胞DNA甲基化作为冠心病危险因素的研究进展

Research update on DNA methylation in peripheral blood cells as a risk factor for coronary heart disease

冠心病是一类以动脉粥样硬化为病理基础的心血管疾病,慢性炎症是动脉粥样硬化的特征之一。外周血白细胞特别是单个核细胞,在这一过程中发挥了重要作用。最近,在一系列的全表观基因组关联研究(EWAS)中,发现了与冠心病相关的外周血白细胞多个DNA差异甲基化位点,进而提示DNA差异甲基化位点是冠心病新的危险因素。DNA甲基化作为一种常见的表观遗传核酸修饰在冠心病发生发展中的作用不断得到肯定,有成为冠心病预警标志物的潜力,也为冠心病的机制研究提供了新的思路和证据。

Coronary heart disease(CHD)is a kind of cardiovascular diseases originated from atherosclerosis(AS),and chronic inflammation is one of the pathological characteristics.The peripheral blood leukocytes,especially mononuclear cells,play an important role in the AS processes.Recently,in a series of Epigenome-Wide Association Studies(EWAS),multiple DNA differential methylation sites in peripheral blood cells were found to be statistically associated with CHD,which suggested that these DNA differential methylation sites might serve as new risk factors for CHD.The recognition of the variant of DNA methylation as a common epigenetic nucleic acid modification in the occurrence and development of CHD,is ongoing.DNA methylation has the potential to become warning biomarkers,which might provide new ideas and evidences for mechanistic studies of CHD.