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| Summer 2007 Newsletter |
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| Epigenetics - The Science of Change |
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| by CCO Columnist Larry Myers |
These altered genetic settings can last a lifetime and be important if, say, the gene turned off is the one that protects against cancer. Environmental factors, such as exposure to pollutants, consumption of certain foods, or even powerful emotional experiences can produce changes to a person�s DNA. These epigenetic features are inherited when the cells divide, and some of the features can be inherited from one generation to the next. From a canine point of view, we can use this as a reference toward the factors that most intensely affect them. The true effects of vaccinations then may go beyond events like vaccinosis. Studies at Purdue showed that vaccinated dogs were developing autoantibodies to many of their own biochemicals, including fibronectin, laminin, cardiolipin, and collagen. Fibronectin is involved in tissue repair, cell multiplication and growth, and differentiation between tissues and organs in a living organism. Laminin is a component of many cellular activities including the adhesion, spreading, differentiation, proliferation, and movement of cells. Anti-cardiolipin antibodies are associated with clots within the heart or blood vessels, in poor blood clotting, hemorrhaging, bleeding into the skin, fetal loss, and neurological conditions. Vaccinated dogs were also developing autoantibodies to their own collagen. About one quarter of all the protein in the body is collagen. It protects and supports the softer tissues and connects them to the skeleton to provide structure to bodies. Vaccinations are at the top of the list of factors to affect a dog. But what about diet and quality of life? To say that kibble is bad for the dog would be an understatement. The ingredients in most kibble are so highly questionable that you may as well feed the dog sawdust. A lack of proper vitamins and minerals is only one problem with this type of diet. As to the quality of life, we should be able to note in ourselves how we stagnate when we are inactive. A sedentary lifestyle affects our moods, motivation, drive and ambition. If a dog lives in a stressful environment with little exercise, does this turn on a marker in their DNA? And what about dogs that were bred for a specific purpose, but are never allowed to participate in that activity? Cancer is the number one killer of dogs. The rate is much higher than for other mammals. There seems to be a cruel parallel between the rise in the incidence of canine cancers and the same trend in human cancers. Cancer in dogs was pretty rare not so long ago. Now Osteosarcoma and Lymphoma are becoming increasingly commonplace followed closely by a rise in Fibrosarcoma, Melanoma, Thyroid and Anal Gland Carcinoma. In the case of domesticated dogs, cancer is on the rise, developmental disorders are commonplace, life expectancy is shortening and domestic dogs are more fragile and more expensive to maintain nowadays than ever before. There has also been a massive international industry built up around processed dog food, health treatments, and more recently 'snack foods' for our dogs, which is in very spooky juxtaposition to the same trends in our own lives. Dogs nowadays don't get to eat much raw or ripening meat and don't get to eat many bones. They don't get to catch their own prey or scavenge for food. They don't eat the raw stomach contents of dead animals. Nowadays they only ever get to eat (gulp actually) cooked, commercial feeds, table scraps with a little raw meat, if they are lucky. Are there correlations between the rise of vaccinations and the rise of hip dyplasia? As the studies at Purdue show, collagen is affected by vaccinations. Collagen is a component of joints. Maybe it is not just autoimmune systems that are affected. As the Canaan is still such a natural dog, are we confusing their systems even more when we expose them to unnatural elements? When looking at causes, we must examine these elements in the context of a lifestyle measurement. Each piece can affect the whole. References Effects Of Vaccination On The Endocrine And Immune Systems of Dogs, Phase II Drs. Harm HogenEsch and Larry T. Glickman, Purdue University, November 1, 1999 Epigenetic differences arise during the lifetime of monozygotic twins Mario F. Fraga, Esteban Ballestar, et al., Spanish National Cancer Centre (CNIO), January 17, 2005 |
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| Epigenetics is a term found in biology to refer to alterations in chromatin and DNA after cell division but do not involve changes in the underlying DNA sequence of the organism. These modifications may explain why one individual may be struck with cancer while another is spared. These epigenetic changes play a role in the process of cellular differentiation, allowing cells to stably maintain different characteristics despite containing the same genomic material. Researchers in Spain focused on two biological mechanisms that influence gene activity. In one, called DNA methylation, enzymes inside a cell attach a miniscule molecular enhancement to a gene to deactivate it. In the other, called histone acetylation, a dormant gene is made active again. |