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Review
. 2017 Oct;31(5):634-648.
doi: 10.1016/j.berh.2018.03.002.

Involvement of epigenetics in osteoarthritis

Rodrigo Coutinho de Almeida  1 , Yolande F M Ramos  1 , Ingrid Meulenbelt  2
Affiliations
Review

Involvement of epigenetics in osteoarthritis

Rodrigo Coutinho de Almeida et al. Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol. 2017 Oct.

Abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent chronic age-related arthritic disease that mainly affects the diarthrodial joints. Nevertheless, there is no treatment currently available that can effectively reduce symptoms or slow down or stop disease progression. The lack of disease-modifying therapies could be explained by the complex pathogenesis of OA, which is still not completely understood. Intertwined epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, and noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) have been indicated as important cellular tools to maintain tissue homeostasis upon environmental challenges. The current review illustrates that dysfunctional epigenetic control mechanisms in the articular cartilage likely play an important role in driving OA pathophysiology.

Keywords: Epigenetics; Methylation; Noncoding RNAs; Osteoarthritis; Transcriptome.

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