Research progress in epigenetic studies on systemic sclerosis / 中南大学学报(医学版)

ABSTRACT

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease with unknown etiology, characterized by vasculopathy, inflammation, and extensive fibrosis in the skin and organs. Fibrosis is the hallmark of SSc and contributes to its high mortality. In recent years, with the in-depth study of the epigenetics of SSc (DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNA), the DNA methylation and miRNA has been the most widely studied. Abnormal DNA methylation can influence the function of vascular endothelial cells, CD4+ T cells, and fibroblasts in SSc. MiRNAs in serum is closely related to autoantibodies, SSc disease activity and complications, and miRNAs in fibroblasts can directly affect the activation of fibroblasts.