Regulation of skeletal muscle development and homeostasis by gene imprinting, histone acetylation and microRNA

Epigenetics is defined as heritable information other that the DNA sequence itself. The concept implies that the regulation of gene expression is highly complex and epigenetics can control from fine tuning to permanent gene activation/deactivation. Skeletal muscle is the main tissue for locomotion and energy metabolism in the body, and represent at least 40% of the body mass. Body mass and function vary according to age but also quickly adapt to physiological as well as pathological cues. Besides transcriptional mechanisms that control muscle differentiation, postnatal growth and remodeling, there are numerous epigenetic mechanisms of regulation that modulate muscle gene expression. In this review, we describe and discuss only some of the mechanisms of epigenetic regulation - such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, and microRNAs - that have been characterized in detail and that we believe are crucial for skeletal muscle development and disease.