Ella and Olivia’s Health: Epigenetics
What is Epigenetics?
Genes play an important role in your health; So do your behaviours and environment. Epigenetics is the study of how your behaviours and environment can cause changes that affect the way your genes work. Epigenetic changes are reversible and do not change your DNA sequence. They change how your body reads a DNA sequence. Gene expression refers to how often or when proteins are created from the instructions within your genes. While genetic changes can alter which protein is made, epigenetic changes affect gene expression to turn genes “on” and “off.”
How Does Epigenetics Work?
Epigenetic changes affect gene expression in different ways. Types of epigenetic changes include:
DNA Methylation
DNA methylation works by adding a chemical group to DNA. Typically, this group is added to specific places on the DNA, where it blocks the proteins that attach to DNA to “read” the gene. This chemical group can be removed through a process called demethylation. Typically, methylation turns genes “off” and demethylation turns genes “on.”
Histone modification
DNA wraps around proteins called histones. DNA wrapped tightly around histones cannot be accessed by proteins that “read” the gene. Some genes are wrapped around histones and are turned “off” while some genes are not wrapped around histones and are turned “on.” Chemical groups can be added or removed from histones and change whether a gene is unwrapped or wrapped (“on” or “off”).
Non-coding RNA
Your DNA is used as instructions for making coding and non-coding RNA. Coding RNA is used to make proteins. Non-coding RNA helps control gene expression by attaching to coding RNA, along with certain proteins, to break down the coding RNA so that it cannot be used to make proteins. Non-coding RNA may also recruit proteins to modify histones to turn genes “on” or “off.”
How Can Epigenetics Change?
Your epigenetics change as you age, both as part of normal development and aging and in response to your behaviours and environment.
Epigenetics and Development
Epigenetic changes begin before you are born. All your cells have the same genes but look and act differently. As you grow and develop, epigenetics helps determine which function a cell will have, for example, whether it will become a heart cell, nerve cell, or skin cell.
Epigenetics and Age
Your epigenetics change throughout your life. Your epigenetics at birth is not the same as your epigenetics during childhood or adulthood.
Epigenetics and Reversibility
Not all epigenetic changes are permanent. Some epigenetic changes can be added or removed in response to changes in behavior or environment.
Epigenetics & Health
Epigenetic changes can affect your health in different ways:
Infections
Germs can change your epigenetics to weaken your immune system. This helps the germ survive.
Cancer
Certain mutations make you more likely to develop cancer. Likewise, some epigenetic changes increase your cancer risk. Epigenetics can be used to help determine which type of cancer a person has or can help to find hard to detect cancers earlier. Epigenetics alone cannot diagnose cancer, and cancers would need to be confirmed with further screening tests.
Nutrition During Pregnancy
A pregnant woman’s environment and behavior during pregnancy, such as whether she eats healthy food, can change the baby’s epigenetics. Some of these changes can remain for decades and might make the child more likely to get certain diseases.
