The Role of Epigenetic Modifications in Cardiometabolic Diseases

The risk of cardiometabolic disease such as type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) increases with age. Both of these diseases are important determinants of overall health and longevity. Although environmental and genetic studies have improved our understanding of the etiology and pathophysiologic mechanisms associated with diabetes and CVD, the etiology for the majority of these traits remains poorly understood. Alterations in the epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation and histone modification, have been recently implicated in the onset and progression of cardiometabolic outcomes and may account for the missing heritability determinants of these diseases. Despite a growing body of literature addressing the role of the environment in gene expression affecting cardiometabolic risk, little is known about the epigenetic pathways involved in the pathophysiology of diabetes and CVD. In this chapter we describe the current knowledge about epigenetic control mechanisms in the development of cardiometabolic diseases.