Epigenetics, Environment and Asthma

Abstract

Asthma is a chronic in ammatory disease of the respiratory tract with a complex genetic background in uenced by the exposition to a series of environmental factors. Genetic studies can only elucidate part of the heritability and susceptibility of asthma and even though several diseases have an evident genetic etiology, only a fraction of the genes involved in their pathogenicity have been identi ed. The epigenetic regulation of the latter is a fact one should bear in mind in order to explain the major triggers of diseases whose understanding is complicated, such as allergies and asthma. External stimulus such as nourishment, stress, physical activity, atmospheric pollution, tobacco smoking and alcohol drinking can induce either gene silencing or gene expression. In this regard, epigenetics can explain how these environmental factors in u- ence our genetic inheritance. There is growing evidence that backs-up the fact that DNA methylation, histone post-translational modi cation and microRNA expression are in uenced by the environment. This helps explaining how several of the risk factors mentioned contribute to the development and inheritance of asthma. In this review, differ- ent environmental factors and their relation with the main epigenetic regulatory mechanisms will be analyzed, as well as their possible role in the development of asthma.

Keywords

• asma
• epigenética
• acetilación
• metilación