DNA epigenetic changes. Their role in wound healing, central nervous system and cancer

Abstract

Epigenetics is described as the changes that do not alter the DNA sequence but affect gene expression. Many types of modifications do exist especially in the N-terminal domain of the histones that give structure to nucleosomes; these changes have direct implications in the expression or repression of genes, with different consequences at the cellular level. One such modification is the addition of an acetyl group on lysine residues (acetylation) which has been implicated in various processes such as wound healing, in diseases of the central nervous system and cancer. The development of drugs capable of controlling the generated epigenetic changes in various diseases is currently a broad field of study and where promising results have been found.