The Emerging Role of Epigenetic Modifiers Linking Cellular Metabolism and Gene Activity in Cardiac Progenitor Cells

During mammalian heart development, cardiac gene expression is controlled by a complex network consisting of signaling pathways, cardiac transcription factors, and epigenetic modifiers. Emerging evidence suggests that epigenetic modifying enzymes sense and respond to metabolic cues, thereby translating environmental stimuli to cardiac gene expression patterns. Here, we review the impact of metabolic cues on epigenetic changes and survey how epigenetic changes, including DNA modifications, histone modifications, and ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling, affect recruitment of progenitor cells into the cardiac lineage. We reason that a better understanding of epigenetic control mechanisms regulating cardiac gene expression will improve reprogramming strategies to generate cardiovascular cells for therapeutic applications. (Trends Cardiovasc Med 2012;22:77-81) (c) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.