Epigenetic changes cause a "personality crisis" in cells
At the earliest stages of embryo development, its constituent cells carry epigenetic tags (chemical groups attached to certain DNA sites) that determine their future fate, that is, transformation into a certain type of cells of an adult organism.
Researchers at the University of Michigan, working under the leadership of Professor Gregory R. Dressler, have demonstrated that the instructions received by cells at the beginning of the path are unstable. Therefore, in order to avoid the development of a kind of "personality crisis", in which cells "forget" which genes they should express and, accordingly, what functions to perform, the body must remind cells of their belonging throughout life.
The scientists came to these conclusions after conducting experiments in which they removed only one of the epigenetic labels that determine whether cells belong to the heart muscle tissue. Such a seemingly insignificant modification disrupted the normal functioning of the electrical pulse transmission system of the heart and caused the development of serious arrhythmia.
The researchers note that aging processes, diseases and other stressful factors, such as smoking, can make similar changes to the original epigenetic "instructions" of cells. The resulting loss of the ability of cells to maintain stable gene expression may be the cause of the development of diseases characteristic of old age, for example, arrhythmias. Thus, epigenetic changes can simultaneously be both a cause and a consequence of the aging process. Moreover, theoretically, such changes can be inherited.
According to Dressler, further study of this issue in the future will allow the development of drugs that stabilize the epigenetic profile of cells and prevent the development of a number of serious diseases.
Article by Adam B. Stein et al. Loss of H3K4 methylation destroys gene expression patterns and physiological functions in adult murine cardiomyocytes was published on July 1 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of the University of Michigan Health System: Mutations can spur dangerous identity crisis in cells.
04.07.2011