The epigenetic effects of butyrate: potential therapeutic implications for clinical practice
Open accessAbstract
Butyrate is a short chain fatty acid derived from the microbial fermentation of dietary fibers in the colon. In the last decade, multiple beneficial effects of butyrate at intestinal and extraintestinal level have been demonstrated. The mechanisms of action of butyrate are different and many of these involve an epigenetic regulation of gene expression through the inhibition of histone deacetylase. There is a growing interest in butyrate because its impact on epigenetic mechanisms will lead to more specific and efficacious therapeutic strategies for the prevention and treatment of different diseases ranging from genetic/metabolic conditions to neurological degenerative disorders. This review is focused on recent data regarding the epigenetic effects of butyrate with potential clinical implications in human medicine.
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Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid with well-known beneficial functions in the intestine.
“a short chain fatty acid with well-known beneficial functions in the intestine38,39.”
From Cholestasis induced by bile duct ligation promotes changes in the intestinal microbiome in mice (2019) · cites this paper as [39]
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- Authors
- Berni Canani, R., Di Costanzo, M., & Leone, L.
- Affiliations
- University of Naples Federico II (IT)
- ORCID
- Leone, Ludovica
- Venue
- Clinical Epigenetics
- Published
- 2012-02-27
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 4-4
- ISSN
- 1868-7075 (ISSN-L)
- 1868-7083
- PMC
- PMC3312834
- OpenAlex
- W2164015729
- Cited by
- 431
- References
- 53
- Citations by year
- 2026: 30 · 2025: 36 · 2024: 34 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 47 · 2020: 39 · 2019: 33 · 2018: 29 · 2017: 36 · 2016: 40 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 6.30
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Clinical Epigenetics (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca (Universita Degli Studi Di Milano) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Agenzia Italiana del Farmaco, Ministero della Salute
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors Research
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Epigenetics and DNA Methylation
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
- Keywords
- butyrate, short-chain fatty acids, histone deacetylase inhibition, epigenetic regulation, gene expression, dietary fiber fermentation, colonic microbiota, therapeutic applications, metabolic disorders
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