title: DNA methylation perspectives in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases.
abstract: DNA methylation is now widely recognized as being critical to maintain the function of immune cells. Recent studies suggest that aberrant DNA methylation levels not only can result in immune cells autoreactivity in vitro, but also are related to autoimmunity in vivo. Environmental factors and genetic polymorphisms cause abnormal methylation, which affects the expression of certain immune-related genes, being becoming hot spot of explaining the mechanism of autoimmune diseases. This paper reviews the importance of abnormal methylation during the development of common autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes, aiming at a better understanding of the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases and providing new ideas for the treatment of these diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410078, PR China; Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Central South University, Hunan Key Laboratory of Pharmacogenetics, Changsha 410078, PR China.
authors.forename: Bao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410078, PR China; Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Central South University, Hunan Key Laboratory of Pharmacogenetics, Changsha 410078, PR China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410078, PR China; Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Central South University, Hunan Key Laboratory of Pharmacogenetics, Changsha 410078, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Ying
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410078, PR China; Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Central South University, Hunan Key Laboratory of Pharmacogenetics, Changsha 410078, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Ping
authors.initials: XP
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410078, PR China; Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Central South University, Hunan Key Laboratory of Pharmacogenetics, Changsha 410078, PR China.
authors.forename: Hong-Hao
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410078, PR China; Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Central South University, Hunan Key Laboratory of Pharmacogenetics, Changsha 410078, PR China. Electronic address: yjsd2003@163.com.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000235:genetics*; D019175:DNA Methylation; D006801:Humans
keywords: DNA methylation; Immune-related genes; Multiple sclerosis; Rheumatoid arthritis; Systemic lupus erythematosus; Type 1 diabetes