Epigenetic Modification and Its Role in Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease, and its mechanisms have not been clearly elucidated. A large percentage (more than 95%) of cases are late-onset AD without familial traits. Although some genes have been implicated in the pathogenesis and the risk of developing sporadic AD, they only account for the minority of late-onset AD. Recently, accumulating data have suggested a potential role for epigenetic mechanisms in neurodegenerative processes leading to dementia. Alterations in the epigenetic machinery cause aberrant DNA methylation and histone acetylation. Therefore, these changes trigger alterations on the transcriptional level of genes involved in the pathogenesis of AD. In this review, we summarize recent advances in research on AD caused by common epigenetic modification and the potential treatment strategies targeting the epigenetic machinery.