Epigenetics of aging

Many aging diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative disorders are characterized, at the molecular level by an alteration of gene expression program that contributes to etiology of disease. Perturbations in gene expression as a result of genetic and environmental factors have been shown to play a critical role in the progressive decline of physiological function associated with aging. Epigenetics, a complex network of mechanisms that regulates gene expression independently of changes to DNA sequence, is implicated in many aging-related diseases and in the physiological onset of the aging. This led to hypothesize that perturbation of epigenetic mechanisms occurring during life could contribute to the onset of aging-related disease. In this chapter, we will discuss the evidence obtained to date in support of these hypotheses regarding cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative disorders (Fig. 10.1).