DNA Methylation in Aortic Aneurysms of Different Localizations

Abstract—

Aortic aneurysm (AA) is a life-threatening condition, and aortic rupture that is the complication of AA in the absence of emergency surgery leads to death. Genetic (more often in thoracic AA—TAA) and environmental factors (in TAA and abdominal AA—AAA) contribute to the development of AA. This review summarizes the data of scientific publications devoted to the study of DNA methylation under the influence of AA risk factors, as well as in the cells of different parts of the aorta (thoracic, abdominal) in normal and pathological conditions. Changes in DNA methylation are observed in aortic and/or blood cells in the presence of AA risk factors (arterial hypertension, smoking, age, and comorbidities). Studies of DNA methylation in TAA and AAA are few and have been conducted using different approaches to sample formation, cell sample selection, and experimental methods. However, they provide convincing evidence of the altered DNA methylation status of genes selected for study using a candidate approach (in the AAA study), as well as of different genomic regions in genome-wide DNA methylation analysis (mainly in TAA studies). Genes localized in differentially methylated regions are associated with the functioning of the cardiovascular system and are involved in cellular and metabolic processes pathogenetically significant for the development of AA. In a number of cases, the association of DNA methylation levels with clinical parameters in AA has been established. These results indicate the prospect of expanding the studies of DNA methylation in AA, including the identification of new pathogenetically significant links in AA development.