title: [Epigenetic mechanism of  cardiac differentiation of stem cells].
abstract: Epigenetics is a new branch of genetics which studies reversible and heritable changes of gene function that do not involve alterations in DNA sequence of nucleus. The epigenetic mechanism includes DNA methylation, post-translational histone modification, chromatin remodeling, microRNA regulation and so on. Some investigations have shown that epigenetic phenomena changes occur in the cardiac differentiation of stem cells.  Drugs causing epigenetic modifications have been shown to induce the cardiac differentiation of stem cells. Epigenetics becomes a hot subject of research on the cardiac differentiation mechanism of stem cells providing new theories and Methods  for stem cell application in developmental biology, genetics and regenerative medicine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Biology, Hunan University, Changsha, China. zhuh6477@126.com
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics*; D042002:Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly; D019175:DNA Methylation; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D057890:Epigenomics / Q000379:methods*; D006657:Histones / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000166:cytology*; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*
chemical_list: D006657:Histones; D035683:MicroRNAs