Title: Epigenetics to the Rescue: Promising Potential of Epigenetic Therapies in Future Medicine
Abstract:The optimization of CRISPR technology to edit and correct errors in DNA is playing a pivotal role in developing new therapeutics which could soon cure genetic disease.However, genetic errors are not t...The optimization of CRISPR technology to edit and correct errors in DNA is playing a pivotal role in developing new therapeutics which could soon cure genetic disease.However, genetic errors are not the only basis leading to disease.Such is the case when typical gene expression becomes aberrant, which in turn disrupts cellular and tissue function and culminates in disease.This specific regulation of gene expression beyond the actual DNA sequence is known as epigenetics.Broadly defined, this is the interaction of proteins and regulatory complexes with DNA which control whether a gene will be expressed or repressed, in turn providing cells specific functions.This di↵erential regulation of genes allows cells which share a same DNA sequence within an organism to adopt di↵erent roles -such as the di↵erent functions of white blood cells versus skin cells -and providing di↵erent abilities to cell populations, such as the regenerative potential of liver cells.The ability to correct epigenetic dysfunction is a promising approach that could o↵er therapeutic value against various diseases, as is reviewed [1].Muscle stem cells are a particularly attractive system for epigenetic studies given their abundance.Further, the role of muscle stem cells in regenerating damaged muscle is quite well understood -when skeletal muscle is damaged through exercise or disease, dormant muscle stem cells become activated, expand their population, then di↵erentiate to repair damaged muscle (summarized in Figure 1).Thus, muscle stem cells are an attractive system to study how epigenetic changes confer regenerative potential to this population.In fact, researchers are now starting to see that epigenetics play a critical role in regulating these cell state changes.Read More