Physical activity in the prevention of human diseases: role of epigenetic modifications

Elisa Grazioli, Ivan Dimauro, Neri Mercatelli, Guan Wang, Yannis Pitsiladis, Luigi Di Luigi, Daniela Caporossi*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

    151 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Epigenetic modification refers to heritable changes in gene function that cannot be explained by alterations in the DNA sequence. The current literature clearly demonstrates that the epigenetic response is highly dynamic and influenced by different biological and environmental factors such as aging, nutrient availability and physical exercise. As such, it is well accepted that physical activity and exercise can modulate gene expression through epigenetic alternations although the type and duration of exercise eliciting specific epigenetic effects that can result in health benefits and prevent chronic diseases remains to be determined. This review highlights the most significant findings from epigenetic studies involving physical activity/exercise interventions known to benefit chronic diseases such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number802
    Number of pages13
    JournalBMC Genomics
    Volume18 (Supplement 8)
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 14 Nov 2017
    Event34th FIMS World Sports Medicine Congress, FIMS 2017 - Ljubljana, Slovenia
    Duration: 29 Sept 20172 Oct 2017
    https://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/supplements/volume-18-supplement-8

    Scopus Subject Areas

    • Biotechnology
    • Genetics

    User-Defined Keywords

    • Disease prevention
    • DNA methylation
    • Exercise
    • Histone modification

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