Perspectives on folate with special reference to epigenetics and neural tube defects.

Folate is a micronutrient essential for DNA synthesis, cell division, fetal growth and development. Folate deficiency leads to genomic instability. Inadequate intake of folate during conception may lead to neural tube defects (NTDs) in the offspring. Folate influences the DNA methylation, histone methylation and homocysteine mediated gene methylation. DNA methylation influences the expression of microRNAs (miRNAs). Folate deficiency may be associated with miRNAs misregulation leading to NTDs. Mitochondrial epigenetics and folate metabolism has proved to be involved in embryogenesis and neural tube development. Folate related genetic variants also cause the occurrence of NTDs. Unmetabolized excessive folate may affect health adversely. Hence estimation of folate levels in the blood plays an important role in high-risk cases.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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