One-carbon metabolism and epigenetics

Potential genetic markers for nonsyndromic oral clefts in the Brazilian population: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Folic acid (folate), acting as a donor and acceptor of carbon units in the methylation of homocysteine to methionine, synthesis of nucleic acids and amino acids and DNA methylation, is an essential nutrient for cell division, gene expression and maintenance of chromosome structure during embryogenesis (Friso, Udali, De Santis, & Choi, ). Previous study showed that the ingestion of folic acid or multivitamin complexes containing folic acid in the gestational period reduces the risk of oral cleft (Wehby and Murray et al, ), whereas variations on genes related to absorption, transport and metabolism of folate increase the predisposition of NOC (Bufalino et al, ; Wang, Jiao, Wang, Sun, & Dong, ).…”

Emerging Role for Methylation in Multiple Sclerosis: Beyond DNA

“…Methylation is an energy-dependent reaction whereby a methyltransferase enzyme covalently links a methyl group to a DNA or protein substrate [7]. Methylation has long been suspected to play a significant role in immune processes that drive or contribute to MS pathogenesis in mammals.…”

The Effect of Folic Acid Supplementation in the Ovary and Upon Embryo Development

“…The evidence presented above suggests that both DNA and histone methylation play a fundamental role in cell specification and differentiation. As one-carbon metabolism, which provides the methyl groups for virtually all these methylation reactions is mostly dependent upon dietary methyl donors and cofactors (Glier, Green and Devlin, 2014;Friso et al, 2017). It has been suggested that variation in the dietary intake of methyl donors and cofactors (choline, betaine, folate and methionine) may influence DNA and histone methylation with long-term consequences for health .…”

“…These pathways provide methyl groups for biological methylation reactions of proteins, phospholipids and nucleic acid. Environmental, nutritional and endocrine alterations can affect one-carbon metabolism which may result in changes in cell function, metabolism, growth and proliferation (Kalhan, 2016;Friso et al, 2017).…”

“…Nutrition can influence epigenetic modifications during early life, and these changes are often maintained resulting in persistent changes in gene activity and expression (Jiménez-Chillarón et al, 2012). A growing number of studies have shown that folic acid (FA) can induce several alterations in the epigenome (Friso et al, 2017). However, these may be dependent upon both the dose and timing of exposure.…”