Environmental Determinants of Cardiovascular Disease: Epigenetic Mechanisms and Genetic Interactions
A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Research".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2026 | Viewed by 65
Special Issue Editors
Interests: molecular epidemiology; environmental cardiology; radiobiology; genetics; cardiovascular disease
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: environmental epidemiology; molecular epidemiology; endocrine disrupting chemicals; metabolic diseases; cardiovascular disease
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Exposure to environmental pollutants is increasingly recognized as a significant, yet often underappreciated, contributor to cardiovascular disease (CVD), which remains the leading cause of mortality worldwide, accounting for approximately 18 million deaths each year. Despite this growing recognition, our understanding of the biological mechanisms through which environmental toxicants promote cardiovascular pathology remains incomplete. The adage, “genetics loads the gun, but the environment pulls the trigger,” aptly captures the complex interplay between genetic susceptibility and environmental influences. Environmental exposures may exacerbate or attenuate inherited risk, while genetic background can shape individual responses to environmental stressors.
Emerging evidence highlights epigenetic mechanisms as a critical interface between environmental exposures and cardiovascular disease. Environmental stressors—including air pollution, heavy metals, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals—can induce epigenetic modifications, such as changes in DNA and RNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNA expression. These alterations regulate gene expression without changing the underlying DNA sequence and may contribute to sustained disruptions in vascular function, inflammation, oxidative stress, and metabolic homeostasis. Notably, because epigenetic modifications are potentially reversible, they represent promising targets for prevention, early detection, and therapeutic intervention.
We invite researchers to submit original research and comprehensive review articles for this Special Issue, which aims to deepen our understanding of the intricate relationships between environmental exposures and CVD, with particular emphasis on the interactions among environmental factors, genetic susceptibility, and epigenetics.
Dr. Andrea Borghini
Dr. Francesca Gorini
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- cardiovascular disease
- environmental exposure
- genetics
- epigenetics
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