title: Epigenetic Mechanisms in Asthma.
abstract: Asthma and allergic diseases are among the most prevalent chronic noncommunicable diseases of childhood, but the underlying pathogenetic mechanisms are poorly understood. Because epigenetic mechanisms link gene regulation to environmental cues and developmental trajectories, their contribution to asthma and allergy pathogenesis is under active investigation. DNA methylation signatures associated with concurrent disease and with the development of asthma during childhood asthma have been identified, but their significance is not easily interpretable. On the other hand, the characterization of early epigenetic predictors of asthma points to a potential role of epigenetic mechanisms in regulating the inception of, and the susceptibility to, this disease.
authors.affiliation: 1 Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine.|2 Functional Genomics Laboratory, Arizona Respiratory Center.
authors.forename: Avery
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: DeVries
authors.affiliation: 2 Functional Genomics Laboratory, Arizona Respiratory Center.|3 Arizona Center for the Biology of Complex Diseases.|4 Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, and.|5 The Bio5 Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
authors.forename: Donata
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vercelli
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000235:genetics*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D057890:Epigenomics / Q000379:methods*; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans
keywords: DNA methylation; asthma; epigenetics