The Role of Epigenetics in the Fibrotic Processes Associated with Glaucoma

Figure 5

Epigenetic changes allow HIF binding to HIF response elements (HREs). A hypoxic environment within a cell can cause normal epigenetic mechanisms to be changed, altering the level of DNA methylation and/or modifying chromatin conformation allowing HIF1α to bind to the HRE on the gene [85]. The TGFβ1 promoter has been previously shown to contain a HRE [86], and so hypoxia can alter TGFβ1 expression through HIF1α.