Clinical Role of Epigenetics and Network Analysis in Eye Diseases: A Translational Science Review

Figure 1

Epigenome: the bridge between environment and genome in ocular disease pathobiology. Environmental stimuli (exposome) interact with the genome through epigenetic modifications, which play a crucial role in controlling gene expression without changing the DNA sequence. The main epigenetic mechanisms are DNA methylation, histone modifications, and noncoding RNAs acting at different levels of the gene expression process. Aberrant epigenetic factors lead to common endophenotypes, including inflammation, fibrosis, proliferation, and adhesion that culminate in complex ocular diseases.