ABSTRACT

As recent evidence suggests a link between metabolic disorders and the epigenome regulation, the current global epidemic of obesity and metabolic disorders underlines the need for a better understanding of epigenome deregulation by changing diet, lifestyle and environmental cues. Epigenetics refers to changes in gene function that cannot be explained by changes in the DNA sequence, with DNA methylation patterns and histone modifications able to make important contributions to epigenetic memory. It is increasingly accepted that nutrients, and their metabolites, influence long-term epigenetic alterations, and may be involved in the development of metabolic diseases especially through alteration of MetS components, even potentially resulting in transgenerational alterations in the phenotype. In animal models and epidemiological evidence, dietary imbalance, such as a high fat or low protein diet, has been shown to impacts on the epigenome of metabolic organs or susceptibility to metabolic diseases. Therefore, the epigenome can be considered an interface between the metabolism and the environment that is central to the generation of metabolic phenotypes and their stability throughout life.

In this seminar, we will focus on understanding how dietary factors influence the epigenome, and how epigenetic factors may contribute to systematic approach to the regulation of metabolic homeostasis. We will also discuss how these advances may constitute the bases for future preventive strategies for metabolic diseases via the nutrition-based modulation of the epigenome.