Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41761204›Full record

ReviewClinical epigenetics2026

Choline and DNA methylation: impact across metabolic, oncogenic and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Sanya Sareen, Marica Bakovic, Clara E Cho

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Clinical epigenetics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Sanya SareenDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
Marica BakovicDepartment of Human Health Sciences, University of Guelph, 491 Gordon Street, Animal Science and Nutrition Building 334, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada.
Clara E ChoDepartment of Human Health Sciences, University of Guelph, 491 Gordon Street, Animal Science and Nutrition Building 334, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada. claracho@uoguelph.ca.

Funding

Canada Research Chairs Tier IICIHR Project GrantNatural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Grant
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAberrant DNA methylation patterns are increasingly recognized as contributors to a wide range of conditions, including metabolic, oncogenic, and neurodevelopmental disorders. Nutritional factors, such as choline, can shape methylation potential via methyl group donation. The purpose of this narrative review is to synthesize current evidence on the DNA methylation landscapes underlying health and disease paradigms, with a focus on the role of choline as a compelling target for modulating epigenetic states. A comprehensive literature review search was conducted in PubMed to identify relevant studies, with additional articles retrieved from review papers. MAIN BODY: In models of metabolic-associated steatotic liver disease, choline deficiency yields perturbed methylation of genes involved in lipid metabolism and mitochondrial function, whereas supplementation restores methylation balance and improves metabolic outcomes. In hepatocellular carcinomas, choline modulates methylation of tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes, interacting with one-carbon metabolism enzymes and the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. During development, gestational choline supplementation induces long-lasting epigenetic changes across multiple systems, affecting genes involved in stress regulation, neurodevelopment, and metabolism. Postnatal choline supplementation can also induce epigenetic remodeling, mitigating established aberrant methylation patterns in adulthood. Across models, choline availability modulates the methylation status of key regulatory genes in a highly context-dependent manner, as it is capable of either increasing or decreasing DNA methylation depending on molecular targets, developmental stage, tissue type, and disease state in a sex-specific manner.

conclusionAlterations in DNA methylation span a wide spectrum of health conditions and diseases, with choline being a potential nutritional modulator through its role as a methyl donor. However, these modulatory effects are not unidirectional as they show subtle variations with context-specificity, highlighting the importance of precision in clinical methyl donor interventions. Studies that comprehensively map DNA methylation patterns and aim to establish causality may serve as an important gateway to identify relevant biomarkers, optimize choline-based therapeutic strategies, and confer more precise epigenetic modulation with translational relevance.

Indexed as

CholineDNA MethylationNeurodevelopmental DisordersAnimalsCholine DeficiencyEpigenesis, GeneticHumansLiver NeoplasmsCholineCholineCognitionDiabetesDNA methylationHCCMASLDObesityStress responseSubstance exposureWilson’s disease

Identifiers

PMID41761204
PMCPMC13049747

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.