DNA Methylation in Atherosclerosis: A New Perspective

Figure 1

Cell type-specific changes in DNA methylation in atherosclerosis. (a) Atherosclerosis of blood vessels. (b) In vascular endothelial cells, disturbed blood flow and ox-LDL can upregulate expression of DNA methyltransferases, which then reduce expression of KLF4, KLF2, and CREG. (c) In macrophages and foam cells, upregulated expression of DNA methyltransferases can decrease SCARB1 and PPAR‐γ expression; downregulated expression of DNMT3b can increase expression of NCoR. (d) In smooth muscle cells, downregulated expression of DNMT3b/DNMT1 increases expression of MMP2, MMP9, and PDGF.