The Epigenetics of Alzheimer's and Other Neurodegenerative Disorders

Epigenome-wide studies revealed hundreds of differentially methylated or hydroxymethylated regions in postmortem brains of individuals deceased from neurodegenerative diseases, and those changes were coupled to genome-wide modifications of the tales of flanking histones. The analysis of postmortem neurons of individuals affected by Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Huntington's disease, however, did not allow discriminating early epigenetic modifications likely contributing to disease onset from those resulting from the neurodegenerative process itself. Therefore, researchers are currently searching for peripheral epigenetic biomarkers that could represent early indicators of an ongoing neurodegenerative process or linked to the exposure to certain neurotoxic compounds. Intense investigation is carried out to test the beneficial effects of either natural or synthetic compounds exerting epigenetic properties to counteract the neurodegenerative process in animal models of major neurodegenerative disorders. Recent studies suggest that also epigenetic modifications of the mitochondrial DNA could contribute to neurodegeneration, warranting further investigatio