Premium
An overview about DNA methylation in childhood obesity: Characteristics of the studies and main findings
Author(s) -
Lima Rafael Silva,
Assis Silva Gomes Juliana,
Moreira Paula Rocha
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of cellular biochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.028
H-Index - 165
eISSN - 1097-4644
pISSN - 0730-2312
DOI - 10.1002/jcb.29544
Subject(s) - epigenetics , dna methylation , childhood obesity , obesity , biology , methylation , disease , genetics , phenotype , bioinformatics , gene , medicine , endocrinology , gene expression , overweight
Childhood obesity is a global burden affecting millions of children worldwide. It is well‐known that the adiposity profile in children is critical for future occurrence of diseases. As a multifactorial disease, obesity is associated with genetic and environmental factors. Epigenetic mechanisms link the plethora of environmental clues to a given phenotype. DNA methylation is the most studied epigenetic mark and its importance in several diseases was acknowledged. In childhood obesity, specifically, the studies show a consistent association between adiposity and methylation at the gene and genome‐wide scales. The relationship between DNA methylation and childhood obesity has been proved strong for some genes and pathways. However, the studies are heterogeneous in their design, methodologies, and results. The aim of this review is to discuss this heterogeneity and point out some aspects that should be considered in future studies to clarify the role of DNA methylation in childhood obesity.