Epigenetics of Pulmonary Diseases

Dear Colleagues, 

Pulmonary diseases affect the lungs and other parts of the respiratory system and are a leading cause of death worldwide. Pulmonary diseases include asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, interstitial lung diseases, pulmonary arterial hypertension, lung tuberculosis, and pulmonary embolism. 

Epigenetic mechanisms represent potential molecular routes that could bridge the gap between genetic background and environmental risk factors contributing to the pathogenesis of pulmonary diseases. There are three main classes of epigenetic marks: DNA methylation, histone modifications, and noncoding RNAs. DNA methylation involves the addition of a methyl group to the 5 positions of cytosine by DNA methyltransferases and can be inherited through cell division. Histone modifications are post-translational processes such as acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation, and ubiquitination of the tails of core histones, each of which plays different roles in gene expression. The contribution of DNA methylation and histone modification of particular genes is involved in the mucus hypersecretion of respiratory conditions. MicroRNAs are approximately 22 nucleotide-long regulatory RNAs that control gene expression by binding to messenger RNA (mRNA), leading to mRNA degradation or the inhibition of protein translation. Understanding these mechanisms may lead to the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. 

In this Special Issue, we describe the epigenetic mechanisms known to be associated with pulmonary diseases and discuss how network analysis could improve our understanding of lung diseases. 

Dr. Narasaiah Kolliputi
Guest Editor

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• asthma
• mucus
• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• interstitial lung diseases
• pulmonary arterial hypertension
• acute lung injury
• lung tuberculosis
• pulmonary embolism
• covalent modification
• oxidative stress
• DNA methylation
• histone modification
• noncoding RNAs
• epigenetic regulation