Effects of Methyl Isocyanate on Patho-Physiology of Various Diseases – An Epigenetic Paradigm

Epigenetic process are one of the most diverse & dynamic concept, which is controlled by a group various highly specialized cellular events like DNA methylation (5-methyl cytosine, 5-hydroxymethyl cytosine, 5-fluoro Cytosine, 5-carboxyl cytosine), histone modification (acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation, sumoylation, biotinylation, citrulination, ubiquitinylation, krotonilation, isomerization, GlcNAcylation, etc.) , ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling, non coding RNA’s etc. They together are responsible for maintaining different epigenetic states which further contributes towards promotion of cellular diversity thereby regulating cell growth and its survival. These processes are involved in regulating gene expression states expressive, repressive & poised. Toxic industrial chemical exposure have been shown to influence the epigenetic mechanism in humans & epigenome acts as an interface between external environment & the genome therefore these epigenetic modification like DNA methylation, histone modification etc. are good harbingers for studying effects of external environment. Such misregulation could effectively contribute toward genome wide instability promoting various genetic abnormalities & cancers. Methyl isocyanate (MIC) is a noxious industrial chemical used extensively in the production of carbamate pesticides which was accidentally released during the Bhopal gas tragedy which resulted in death of thousands of individuals. Even after a lot of extensive studies on effects of MIC on the affected population, the clear mechanism of pathogenesis remains elusive. Studying epigenetic phenomenon might help unravel a new dimension & further enhance understanding related to patho-physiology of affected population.