Abstract
Epigenetics has been redefined multiple times and today, it is generally accepted as “an academic discipline for the study of changes in gene function that are heritable after mitotic and/or meiotic division without any change in DNA sequence and/or changes in cell phenotype”. DNA methylation and histone modifications are one of the major mechanisms of epigenetic modifications. Vitamins and biofactors can modulate these epigenetic modifications. Vitamin B2, B6, B12, folate, and some biofactors such as betaine and choline regulate DNA methylation and histone methylation via synthesizing S-adenosyl-L-methionine that is the unique methyl donor for C5 position of cytosine base and lysine residues in histone tails. Vitamin C, Fe2+, and 2-oxoglutarate are cofactors for ten-eleven translocation methylcytosine dioxygenases that are important for oxidative demethylation of cytosine base and for jumonji domain-containing histone demethylases that remove methyl groups from lysine residues in histone tails. Vitamin B2 is also a cofactor for lysine-specific histone demethylase. Pantothenate is a cofactor for histone acetyltransferases and niacin is a cofactor for NAD+-dependent histone deacetylases. Vitamins A, D, and E and biotin are also cofactors to regulate epigenetic modification
