Homocysteine, Alcoholism, and Its Potential Epigenetic Mechanism

Pradip K. Kamat, Carissa J. Mallonee, Akash K. George, Suresh C. Tyagi, Neetu Tyagi

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

44 Scopus citations

Abstract

Alcohol is the most socially accepted addictive drug. Alcohol consumption is associated with some health problems such as neurological, cognitive, behavioral deficits, cancer, heart, and liver disease. Mechanisms of alcohol-induced toxicity are presently not yet clear. One of the mechanisms underlying alcohol toxicity has to do with its interaction with amino acid homocysteine (Hcy), which has been linked with brain neurotoxicity. Elevated Hcy impairs with various physiological mechanisms in the body, especially metabolic pathways. Hcy metabolism is predominantly controlled by epigenetic regulation such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, and acetylation. An alteration in these processes leads to epigenetic modification. Therefore, in this review, we summarize the role of Hcy metabolism abnormalities in alcohol-induced toxicity with epigenetic adaptation and their influences on cerebrovascular pathology.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2474-2481
Number of pages8
JournalAlcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research
Volume40
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Cerebrovascular Pathology
  • Cystathionine-β-Synthase
  • Cystathionine-γ-Lyase
  • DNA Methylation
  • Vascular Dementia

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Medicine (miscellaneous)
  • Toxicology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Homocysteine, Alcoholism, and Its Potential Epigenetic Mechanism'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this