Epigenetic mechanisms in Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common age-related neurodegenerative disease, but its pathogenesis is not fully understood. The selective neuronal cell death in PD has been considered to result from a complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors, but the nature of the relationship between the two chief modifiers remains to be elucidated. There is a growing body of evidence supporting the role of epigenetics in the development and progression of many neurodegenerative diseases including PD. Epigenetic modification refers to changes in gene expression or function without changes in DNA sequence, which mainly includes DNA methylation, post-modifications of histone, and non-coding RNAs. In this review, we will focus on the abnormal epigenetic modifications involved in the pathogenesis of PD and their implications for the development of future diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.