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Epigenetics and Ocular Diseases: From Basic Biology to Clinical Study

Epigenetics is an emerging field in ophthalmology and has opened a new avenue for understanding ocular development and ocular diseases related to aging and environment. Epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, histone modifications, chromatin remodeling, and deployment of non‐coding RNAs, result in the heritable silencing of gene expression without any change in DNA sequence. Accumulating evidence suggests a potential link between gene expression, chromatin structure, non‐coding RNAs, and cellular differentiation during ocular development. Disruption of the balance of epigenetic networks could become the etiology of several ocular diseases. Here, we summarized the current knowledge about epigenetic regulatory mechanisms in ocular development and diseases. J. Cell. Physiol. 229: 825–833, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.