Manipulating the epigenome for the treatment of disorders with thrombotic complications

The haemostatic system is tightly regulated to maintain homeostasis to avoid unwanted bleeding or thrombotic complications. Recent research has highlighted the importance of epigenetic changes, such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, and miRNA-based mechanisms, that alter gene expression. This can give rise to dysregulated haemostatic or vascular expressed molecules contributing to the development of thrombotic complications. Targeting these epigenetic changes could provide a new avenue for the treatment of pathological blood clots. However, the lack of tissue specificity warrants high-resolution genomic studies of the transcriptome and methylome that will reveal explicit epigenetic targets for the design of superior drugs with minimum off-target effects.