Epigenetika i fiziologija gena

Epigenetics is focused on gene physiology, analyzing inherited variations in gene expression, while genomics is focused on gene anatomy, analyzing gene structure. DNA methylation and histone post-translational modifications are the basic epigenetic mechanisms regulating gene activity. These two processes complement each other, creating an epigenetic network of events which regulates specific gene activity. Establishing a particular type of epigenetic network depends on the anatomy of both the gene and its promoter, as well as the permanent interaction of exogenic and endogenic factors, which result in a particular epigenetic mark. As a result of new data, the importance of epigenetic marks as a reversible process, is becoming increasingly relevant to disease development, especially for cancer. One looks forward to the promise, still to be fully realized, of research in epigenetics, including new approaches to therapy and the development of "smart" epigenetic drugs.