Title:Histone Methylation Regulation as a Potential Target for Non-alcoholic
Fatty Liver Disease
Volume: 24
Issue: 6
Author(s): Yuanbin Liu and Mingkai Chen*
Affiliation:
- Department of Gastroenterology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, No. 99 Zhang Zhidong Road, Wuhan, Hubei,
430000, P.R. China
Keywords:
Epigenetics, histone methylation, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, lipid metabolism, therapy, NAFLD.
Abstract: Epigenetic modulations are currently emerging as promising targets in metabolic diseases,
including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), for their roles in pathogenesis and therapeutic
potential. The molecular mechanisms and modulation potential of histone methylation as a histone
post-transcriptional modification in NAFLD have been recently addressed. However, a detailed overview
of the histone methylation regulation in NAFLD is lacking. In this review, we comprehensively
summarize the mechanisms of histone methylation regulation in NAFLD. We conducted a comprehensive
database search in the PubMed database with the keywords 'histone', 'histone methylation',
'NAFLD', and 'metabolism' without time restriction. Reference lists of key documents were also reviewed
to include potentially omitted articles. It has been reported that these enzymes can interact
with other transcription factors or receptors under pro-NAFLD conditions, such as nutritional stress,
which lead to recruitment to the promoters or transcriptional regions of key genes involved in glycolipid
metabolism, ultimately regulating gene transcriptional activity to influence the expression. Histone
methylation regulation has been implicated in mediating metabolic crosstalk between tissues or
organs in NAFLD and serves a critical role in NAFLD development and progression. Some dietary
interventions or agents targeting histone methylation have been suggested to improve NAFLD; however,
there is still a lack of additional research and clinical translational relevance. In conclusion, histone
methylation/demethylation has demonstrated an important regulatory role in NAFLD by mediating
the expression of key glycolipid metabolism-related genes, and more research is needed in the future
to explore its potential as a therapeutic target.