Environmental epigenetics has potential for preventing and treati...(expression of imprinted genes is species...)

The article cites several studies involving metastable epialleles, which are alternate forms of a gene that are expressed due to epigenetic modifications linked to maternal nutrition and environmental exposure during very early development. The authors note that simple dietary changes were found to protect against the negative effects of environmental toxins on the fetal epigenome. They also cite evidence that embryos are vulnerable to environmentally-induced epigenetic alterations early in their development, highlighting the need to analyze the timing of exposure in order to fully understand environmental epigenomics.

The advent of bioinformatics has allowed researchers to more readily search the entire mouse genome for imprinted genes, but the real power of this approach has been recently demonstrated in its application to the human genome. While 2.5 percent of the mouse genome contains potentially imprinted genes, only 0.75 percent of the human genome is predicted to be imprinted. This means that the mouse genome may not be a suitable model for assessing human disease risk due to epigenetic mutations in imprinted genes. The authors point out the necessity of developing bioinformatic models that can identify metastable epialleles in order to characterize all of the genes susceptible to environmental influences.

With the identification of epigenetically unstable locations in the human genome, it will be possible to screen individuals at an early age for epigenetically susceptible diseases, allowing for closer monitoring and more frequent follow-up. In addition, unlike genetic mutation, epigenetic profiles are potentially reversible. Therefore, epigenetic approaches for prevention and treatment, such as nutritional supplementation and/or pharmaceutical therapies may be developed to counteract negat
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