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Review
. 2022 May 12:10:852752.
doi: 10.3389/fcell.2022.852752. eCollection 2022.

Epigenetics and Neuroinflammation Associated With Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Microglial Perspective

Munekazu Komada  1 , Yuhei Nishimura  2
Affiliations
Review

Epigenetics and Neuroinflammation Associated With Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Microglial Perspective

Munekazu Komada et al. Front Cell Dev Biol. .

Abstract

Neuroinflammation is a cause of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorders, fetal alcohol syndrome, and cerebral palsy. Converging lines of evidence from basic and clinical sciences suggest that dysregulation of the epigenetic landscape, including DNA methylation and miRNA expression, is associated with neuroinflammation. Genetic and environmental factors can affect the interaction between epigenetics and neuroinflammation, which may cause neurodevelopmental disorders. In this minireview, we focus on neuroinflammation that might be mediated by epigenetic dysregulation in microglia, and compare studies using mammals and zebrafish.

Keywords: DNA methylation; Rett syndrome; autism spectrum disorders; fetal alcohol syndrome; microRNA; microglia; rodents; zebrafish.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Involvement of environmental and genetic factors in the epigenetic dysregulation and neuroinflammation associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. Perinatal environmental insults such as alcohol and cocaine exposure during development and/or genetic risks such as mutation of MECP2 and UHRF1 can cause epigenetic dysregulation in microglia, including the expression of microRNAs important for the development and function of microglia, leading to neuroinflammation and neurodevelopmental disorders. Zebrafish, as well as rodents, can be used to analyze the effect of such factors.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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