Premium
Homocysteine, Alcoholism, and Its Potential Epigenetic Mechanism
Author(s) -
Kamat Pradip K.,
Mallonee Carissa J.,
George Akash K.,
Tyagi Suresh C.,
Tyagi Neetu
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/acer.13234
Subject(s) - epigenetics , homocysteine , neurotoxicity , mechanism (biology) , dna methylation , histone , addiction , ethanol metabolism , toxicity , alcohol , pharmacology , medicine , biology , bioinformatics , biochemistry , neuroscience , dna , gene , philosophy , gene expression , epistemology
Alcohol is the most socially accepted addictive drug. Alcohol consumption is associated with some health problems such as neurological, cognitive, behavioral deficits, cancer, heart, and liver disease. Mechanisms of alcohol‐induced toxicity are presently not yet clear. One of the mechanisms underlying alcohol toxicity has to do with its interaction with amino acid homocysteine (Hcy), which has been linked with brain neurotoxicity. Elevated Hcy impairs with various physiological mechanisms in the body, especially metabolic pathways. Hcy metabolism is predominantly controlled by epigenetic regulation such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, and acetylation. An alteration in these processes leads to epigenetic modification. Therefore, in this review, we summarize the role of Hcy metabolism abnormalities in alcohol‐induced toxicity with epigenetic adaptation and their influences on cerebrovascular pathology.