title: Epigenome-modifying tools in asthma.
abstract: Asthma is a chronic disease which causes recurrent breathlessness affecting 300 million people worldwide of whom 250,000 die annually. The epigenome is a set of heritable modifications and tags that affect the genome without changing the intrinsic DNA sequence. These marks include DNA methylation, modifications to histone proteins around which DNA is wrapped and expression of noncoding RNA. Alterations in all of these processes have been reported in patients with asthma. In some cases these differences are linked to disease severity and susceptibility and may account for the limited value of genetic studies in asthma. Animal models of asthma suggest that epigenetic modifications and processes are linked to asthma and may be tractable targets for therapeutic intervention.
authors.affiliation: Imperial College London, National Heart & Lung Institute, Dovehouse Street, London, SW3 6LY, UK.
authors.forename: Peter O
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Brook
authors.affiliation: Imperial College London, National Heart & Lung Institute, Dovehouse Street, London, SW3 6LY, UK.
authors.forename: Mark M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.affiliation: Imperial College London, National Heart & Lung Institute, Dovehouse Street, London, SW3 6LY, UK.
authors.forename: Ian M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Adcock
authors.affiliation: Imperial College London, National Heart & Lung Institute, Dovehouse Street, London, SW3 6LY, UK.
authors.forename: Andrew L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Durham
mesh_terms: D000107:Acetylation / Q000187:drug effects; D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D019175:DNA Methylation; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D057890:Epigenomics / Q000379:methods; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D056572:Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008745:Methylation; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy
chemical_list: D056572:Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors; D006657:Histones; D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: DNA methylation; T cell; asthma; epigenetics; histone modification; miRNA; therapeutics