Exploring epigenetic reprogramming during central nervous system infection

Abstract

Epigenetics involves the study of various modes of adaptable transcriptional regulation, contributing to cell identity, characteristics, and function. During central nervous system (CNS) infection, epigenetic mechanisms can exert pronounced control over the maturation and antimicrobial properties of nearly every immune cell type.Epigenetics is a relatively new field, with the first mention of these marks proposed only a half-century ago and a substantial body of immunological epigenetic research emerging only in the last few decades. Here, we review the best-characterized epigenetic marks and their functions as well as illustrate how various immune cell populations responding to CNS infection utilize these marks to organize their activation state and inflammatory processes. We also discuss the metabolic and clinical implications of epigenetic marks and the rapidly expanding set of tools available to researchers that are enabling elucidation of increasingly detailed genetic regulatory pathways.These considerations paint an intricate picture of inflammatory regulation, where epigenetic marks influence genetic, signaling, and environmental elements to orchestrate a tailored immunological response to the threat at hand, cementing epigenetics as an important player in immunity.

Reinventing the Penumbra — the Emerging Clockwork of a Multi-modal Mechanistic Paradigm

“…Stroke can also lead to systemic immunodepression, which promotes high susceptibility to following infections such as pneumonia [ 206 ]. Both immune exhaustion and dysregulation of the sympathetic nervous system have been implicated in the cause of this immunodepression [ 207 , 208 ]. Therapeutic regulation of immune cell behavior might thus not only be advantageous to reduce brain damage after stroke but could also be a strategy to prevent secondary diseases [ 209 ] .…”

Epigenetic Regulation of Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s Disease

“…In recent years, epigenetic modification has emerged as a fundamental mediator in many human diseases such as CNS disorder [ 17 , 18 ]. Epigenetic modification refers to heritable changes in gene expression independent of DNA sequence alteration and mainly includes DNA methylation, histone modification, non-coding RNAs, chromatin remodeling, nucleosome positioning, etc., [ 19 ].…”