Epigenetics of skin disorders

Skin disorders are a large family of various complex diseases and dysfunctions. With the development of epigenetics in human diseases, more and more skin disorders were proved to be associated with epigenetic modifications. Defined as heritable changes in gene expression that do not involve a change in the genomic DNA sequence, epigenetics may play a significant role and open a new window in skin disorders. In this chapter, we summarize the epigenetic modifications of a number of skin disorders including immunologic skin diseases, infectious skin diseases, skin tumors, and skin aging. We also review a number of candidate epigenetic markers and potential therapeutic strategies. Understanding the concepts of epigenetics can provide insights into the pathogenesis of skin disorders, and may lead to the development of biomarkers, improve prognosis, and support the development of novel molecular targets in therapies, especially refractory skin diseases. Epigenetics will serve as the next large area of medicine with the potential to treat and possibly prevent skin diseases in the future.