ABSTRACT
Osteoporosis (OP) is a systemic disease characterized by low bone mass and deterioration of the microarchitecture of bone tissue, resulting in increased bone fragility and fracture tendency. Environmental factors early in life, including the prenatal period, can affect bone mass later in life and thus the risk of OP. Epigenetics mainly plays a post-transcriptional regulatory role and has important functions in the biological signal-regulatory pathway. Epigenetic mechanisms play an important role in the differentiation of bone cells, osteoblasts, and osteoclasts, which are responsible for bone formation and bone resorption. Several studies have shown some differentially methylated genes in patients with OP. The abnormal epigenetic regulation can lead to a number of bone metabolism-related diseases such as OP. These include genes for the Wnt pathway, an important regulator of osteoblast differentiation, and other genes involved in skeletal development. Similarly, some MicroRNA’s may be differentially expressed in these patients. However, it is recommended that these results should be replicated in other cohorts. Unlike the genome, the epigenome is cell-specific and changes with aging and environmental factors. Therefore, the design and interpretation of epigenetic epidemiology studies pose a number of practical challenges. Epigenetic mechanisms play an important role in the differentiation of bone cells, osteoblasts, and osteoclasts, which are responsible for bone formation and bone resorption.