•Aberrant
methylation may be due to multiple macroscopic causes
–Aging
–Diet : what people eat now, what they ate in the past and what their parents ate
–Lifestyle
factors like exercise and sleep
patterns
–Inflammation, carcinogens, and diseases are known to cause methylation alterations.
–Tobacco, alcohol, arsenic, and asbestos are associated with methylation-induced-gene-inactivation.
–Hypermethylation of tumor suppressor genes is found in lung tissue of smokers.
•DNA methylation is
being intensely studied. The database Pubmed.org shows
35,766 research publications related to this topic.
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