Research Information System
EFE AKADEMİ YAYINEVİ, İstanbul, 2025
Epigenetics is the study of the inherited mechanisms by which gene
expression is permanently or temporarily regulated without any change in the
deoxyribo nucleic acid (DNA) sequence. The best characterized of these
mechanisms are DNA methylation, post-translational modifications of histone
proteins and regulatory processes mediated by non-coding ribonucleic acids
(RNA). Epigenetic regulation plays a central role in many biological
processes, from embryonic development to cell differentiation, aging,
environmental responses and disease development. In particular,
environmental factors - such as nutrition, stress, exposure to toxins, physical
activity - can affect epigenetic structure and cause dynamic reprogramming of
genetic expression. Beyond genetic inheritance, epigenetic approaches are
very important in understanding the effects of environmental and lifestyle
factors on an individual's health status. The reversible nature of epigenetic
changes creates a promising field in unraveling the mechanisms associated
with cancer, metabolic diseases, neurodegenerative disorders and
inflammatory processes and in developing individualized medical approaches
(Feinberg, 2018).
Inflammation is an acute or chronic condition in which the immune
system recognizes and eliminates harmful and foreign stimuli and initiates the
healing process. Although inflammation is a normal response, it can become
prolonged and out of control and damage host tissues either due to a
dysregulation in the immune system or when the cause that triggers
inflammation is not eliminated. This is defined as chronic (low-level,
prolonged) inflammation. Factors such as age, obesity, nutrition, smoking,
stress and sleep disorders are among the causes that can lead to chronic
inflammation and/or cause its progression (Gkrinia & Belančić, 2025).
Chronic inflammatory diseases are recognized as the leading cause of
death worldwide. More than 50% of all deaths are caused by inflammationrelated
diseases such as ischemic heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes
mellitus, chronic kidney disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease,
autoimmune and neurodegenerative conditions (Global Burden of Disease
Study (GBD), 2018). Nutrigenetics is the study of different biological
responses to nutrients depending on an individual's genetic makeup.
Nutrigenetic studies show how individual genetic variations mediate nutrition,
particularly in inflammatory responses and chronic disease risk. For example,
polymorphisms in genes associated with inflammation, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), can influence individuals'
inflammatory responses to high-fat diets. Omega-3 fatty acids contribute to
the suppression of inflammation by modifying gene expression in these
individuals (Raqib & Cravioto, 2022). Personalized nutrition approaches to
the prevention and management of chronic inflammation become more
effective when the genetic and epigenetic profile is taken into account.
Nutrigenetics determines who should eat what, while nutrigenomics explains
how nutrients act at the genetic level. Through these approaches,
individualized dietary strategies that suppress the proinflammatory response
can be developed. The microbiota-epigenome-inflammation axis can be better
understood. Contribute to the prevention of inflammation-related diseases
(obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases) (Meiliana & Widyahusada,
2020).
In recent years, studies in the field of epigenetics have revealed that
environmental interactions can affect not only the individual but also
subsequent generations through intergenerational transmission. In this
context, epigenetics offers a holistic approach to understanding the
interactions of the individual with its internal and external environment
beyond genetic information. It has been shown that nutrients not only provide
energy and building blocks, but can also affect gene expression through
epigenetic mechanisms. These interactions play a particularly critical role in
the regulation of inflammation, contributing to the shaping of chronic
inflammatory responses through DNA methylation, histone modifications and
non-coding RNAs. Thus, the impact of nutrition on inflammatory processes
through epigenetics has become an important area of research in the
prevention and management of chronic diseases.
The aim of this chapter is to examine the effects of epigenetic
mechanisms on chronic inflammation from the perspective of nutritional
science; in particular, to evaluate the potential of nutrition-based strategies in
the prevention of chronic inflammation-related diseases by revealing how
nutrients and bioactive components modulate the inflammatory response
through epigenetic pathways such as DNA methylation and histone
modifications.