Tuyển tập các báo cáo nghiên cứu về y học được đăng trên tạp chí y học General Psychiatry cung cấp cho các bạn kiến thức về ngành y đề tài: Epigenetic modifications in rheumatoid arthritis. | Available online http content 10 5 219 Review Epigenetic modifications in rheumatoid arthritis Simon Strietholt1 Britta Maurer21- Marvin A Peters1 Thomas Pap1 and Steffen Gay2 institute of Experimental Musculoskeletal Medicine University Hospital Munster Domagkstrasse 3 48149 Munster Germany 2Center of Experimental Rheumatology University Hospital of Zurich Zurich Center of Integrative Human Physiology Zurich Switzerland These authors contributed equally to this work. Corresponding author Thomas Pap Published 10 October 2008 This article is online at http content 10 5 219 2008 BioMed Central Ltd Arthritis Research Therapy 2008 10 219 doi ar2500 Abstract Over the last decades genetic factors for rheumatoid diseases like the HLA haplotypes have been studied extensively. However during the past years of research it has become more and more evident that the influence of epigenetic processes on the development of rheumatic diseases is probably as strong as the genetic background of a patient. Epigenetic processes are heritable changes in gene expression without alteration of the nucleotide sequence. Such modifications include chromatin methylation and post-translational modification of histones or other chromatin-associated proteins. The latter comprise the addition of methyl acetyl and phosphoryl groups or even larger moieties such as binding of ubiquitin or small ubiquitin-like modifier. The combinatory nature of these processes forms a complex network of epigenetic modifications that regulate gene expression through activation or silencing of genes. This review provides insight into the role of epigenetic alterations in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis and points out how a better understanding of such mechanisms may lead to novel therapeutic strategies. Introduction Rheumatic disorders comprise a large number of different disease entities that are all characterized by .
