My research focuses on:
- the DNA methylome of the vascular system in atherosclerosis and in normal physiology
- changes in DNA methylation induced by lipoproteins
and specific lipids.
Collaborative work with Gertrud Lund (CINVESTAV Irapuato Unit, Mexico) aims to identify dietary factors that affect the epigenome during early life and adulthood.
I am a member of the International Programme for Collaboration and Research DOHaD, led by Dr. G. Barbosa-Sabanero (University of Guanajuato, Mexico) and Dr. F. Bolaños-Jiménez (University of Nantes, France).
Our group exploits a variety of tools including NGS, microarrays, genetically modified mice and drug design.
- the DNA methylome of the vascular system in atherosclerosis and in normal physiology
- changes in DNA methylation induced by lipoproteins
and specific lipids.
Collaborative work with Gertrud Lund (CINVESTAV Irapuato Unit, Mexico) aims to identify dietary factors that affect the epigenome during early life and adulthood.
I am a member of the International Programme for Collaboration and Research DOHaD, led by Dr. G. Barbosa-Sabanero (University of Guanajuato, Mexico) and Dr. F. Bolaños-Jiménez (University of Nantes, France).
Our group exploits a variety of tools including NGS, microarrays, genetically modified mice and drug design.
Selected publications
S. Zaina. The functional significance of vascular DNA hypermethylation in atherosclerosis: a historical perspective. Frontiers in Pharmacology. 2025; 16: 1562674.
J.d.J. Flores-Sierra, M.d.R. Muciño-Arellano, G.d.C. Romo-Morales, J.E. Sánchez-Palafox, V.A. Correa-Navarro, D. Colín-Castelán, V. Pérez-Vázquez, R. Rangel-Salazar, R. Rivera-Bustamante, C. de la Rocha, D. Rodríguez-Ríos, D.L. Trejo-Saavedra, J. Molina-Torres, E. Ramírez-Chávez, N.S. García-Rojas, R. Winkler, G. Lund, S. Zaina. The DNA methyltransferase inhibitor decitabine blunts the response to a high animal fat and protein diet in mice. Journal of Lipid Research. 2024; 65: 100586. G. Lund, S. Zaina. Epigenetics, the vascular wall and atherosclerosis. In: Encyclopedia of Endocrine Diseases, 3rd edition. Editor: I. Huhtaniemi. Elsevier. In press. A.C. Márquez-Sánchez, A. Manzanares-Guzmán, R. Carriles-Jaimes, L. Sánchez-Segura, D. Colín-Castelán, D. Kamen, E.K. Koltsova, A. Martínez-Antonio, D. Rodríguez-Ríos, G.d.C Romo-Morales, G. Lund, S. Zaina. Nanoparticles loaded with the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor SGI-1027 decrease murine atherosclerosis and inflammation in cultured human macrophages. Exploration of Cardiology. 2024; 2: 49-66. S. Zaina. Will epigenetics ever be a biosocial science? A reply to Chiapperino and Paneni. Epigenetics Communications. 2023; 3: 2. S. Zaina, M. Esteller, I. Gonçalves, G. Lund. Dynamic epigenetic age mosaicism in the human atherosclerotic artery. PLOS ONE. 2022; 17: e0269501. L.C. Rodríguez-Mejía, I. Romero-Estudillo, L.A. Rivillas-Acevedo, L. French-Pacheco, G.A. Silva-Martínez, Y. Alvarado-Caudillo, D. Colín-Castelán, D. Rodríguez-Ríos, K. Wrobel, K. Wrobel, G. Lund, S. Zaina. The DNA methyltransferase inhibitor RG108 is converted to activator following conjugation with short peptides. International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics. 2022; 28: 79. C. de la Rocha, D. Rodríguez-Ríos, E. Ramírez-Chávez, J. Molina-Torres, J.d.J. Flores-Sierra, L.M. Orozco-Castellanos, J.P. Galván-Chía, A. Vázquez-Sánchez, S. Zaina, G. Lund. Cumulative metabolic and epigenetic effects of paternal and/or maternal supplementation with arachidonic acid across three consecutive generations in mice. Cells. 2022; 11: 1057. S. Zaina, G. Lund. Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential and the evolutionary lottery in chromosome 2: does that make human atherosclerosis special? Current Opinion in Lipidology. 2021; 32: 389-391. A. Pescador-Tapia, G. Silva-Martínez, N. Fragoso-Bargas, D. Rodríguez-Ríos, M. Esteller, S. Moran, S. Zaina, G. Lund. Distinct associations of BMI and fatty acids with DNA methylation in fasting and postprandial states in men. Frontiers in Genetics. 2021; 12: 665769. M.d.P. Valencia-Morales, A. Sanchez-Flores, D. Colín-Castelán, Y. Alvarado-Caudillo, N. Fragoso-Bargas, G. López-González, T. Peña-López, M. Ramírez-Nava, C. de la Rocha, D. Rodríguez-Ríos, G. Lund, S. Zaina. Somatic genetic mosaicism in the apolipoprotein E-null mouse aorta. Thrombosis and Haemostasis. 2021; 121: 1541-1553. D. Colín-Castelán, S. Zaina. Associations between atherosclerosis and neurological diseases, beyond ischemia-induced cerebral damage. Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders. 2019; 20: 15-25. S. Zaina, G. Lund. Mitochondrial dysfunction and DNA methylation in atherosclerosis. In: Mitochondrial dysfunctions, 1st edition. S. Ahmad, Editor. Taylor & Francis. 2019; p. 115-126. G. Lund, S. Zaina. Epigenetics, the vascular wall and atherosclerosis. In: Encyclopedia of Endocrine Diseases, 2nd edition. I. Huhtaniemi and L. Martini, Editors. Elsevier. 2019; Vol. 1, p. 302-313. F.E. Tristán-Flores, P. Guzmán, M.S. Ortega-Kermedy, G. Cruz-Torres, C. de la Rocha, G.A. Silva-Martinez, D. Rodríguez-Ríos, Y. Alvarado-Caudillo, G. Barbosa-Sabanero, S. Sayols, G. Lund, S. Zaina. A liver X receptor-binding DNA motif associated with atherosclerosis-specific DNA methylation profiles of Alu elements and neighbouring CpG islands. Journal of the American Heart Association. 2018; 7: e007686. S. Zaina, G. Lund. Connecting the dots between fatty acids, mitochondrial function, and DNA methylation in atherosclerosis. Current Atherosclerosis Reports. 2017; 19: 36. C. de la Rocha, J.E. Pérez-Mojica, S. Zenteno-De León, B. Cervantes-Paz, F.E. Tristán-Flores, D. Rodríguez-Ríos, J. Molina- Torres, E. Ramírez-Chávez, Y. Alvarado-Caudillo, F.J. Carmona, M. Esteller, R. Hernández-Rivas, V.G. Reyes-Sánchez, K. Wrobel, K. Wrobel, S. Zaina, G. Lund. Associations between whole peripheral blood fatty acids and DNA methylation in humans. Scientific Reports. 2016; 6: 25867. G.A. Silva-Martínez, D. Rodríguez-Ríos, Y. Alvarado-Caudillo, A. Vaquero, M. Esteller, F.J. Carmona, S. Moran, F.C. Nielsen, M. Wickström-Lindholm, K. Wrobel, K. Wrobel, G. Barbosa-Sabanero, S. Zaina, G. Lund. Arachidonic and oleic acid exert distinct effects on the DNA methylome. Epigenetics. 2016; 11: 321-334. S. Zaina*, I. Gonçalves*, F.J. Carmona, A. Gomez, H. Heyn, I.G. Mollet, S. Moran, N. Varol, M. Esteller. DNA methylation dynamics in human carotid plaques after cerebrovascular events. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology. 2015; 35: 1835-1842. *Equal contribution M.d.P. Valencia-Morales*, S. Zaina*, H. Heyn, F.J. Carmona, N. Varol, S. Sayols, E. Condom, J. Ramírez-Ruz, A. Gomez, S. Moran, G. Lund, D. Rodríguez-Ríos, G. López-González, M. Ramírez-Nava, C. de la Rocha-Martín, A. Sanchez-Flores, M. Esteller. The DNA methylation drift of the atherosclerotic aorta increases with lesion progression. BMC Medical Genomics. 2015; 8: 7. *Equal contribution S. Zaina, H. Heyn, F.J. Carmona, N. Varol, S. Sayols, E. Condom, J. Ramírez-Ruz, A. Gomez, I. Gonçalves, S. Moran, M. Esteller. A DNA Methylation Map of Human Atherosclerosis. Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics. 2014; 7: 692-700. S. Zaina. Unravelling the DNA methylome of atherosclerosis. Current Opinion in Lipidology. 2014; 25: 148-153. |
Group membersGloria del Carmen Romo Morales (gdc.romomorales@ugto.mx ), Ph.D. student, Medical Sciences programme, University of Guanajuato.
Thesis project: Neonatal period-to-adolescence stability of blood cell DNA methylation. Co-advisor: Gertrud Lund, CINVESTAV Irapuato. Nuria Areli Márquez Pérez (na.marquezperez@ugto.mx), M.Sc. student, Medical Sciences programme, University of Guanajuato. Thesis project: intergenerational effects of paternal exposure to fatty acids on the methylome and transcriptome. Co-advisors: Gertrud Lund, CINVESTAV Irapuato; Reyna Fierro, UAM. Omar Ernesto Galaviz Silva (oe.galavizsilva@ugto.mx) M.Sc. student, Medical Sciences programme, University of Guanajuato. Thesis project: intergenerational effects of paternal exposure to fatty acids on the male reproductive system fatty acids. Co-advisors: Gertrud Lund, CINVESTAV Irapuato. Patricia Zúñiga Sánchez (q.f.b.patriciaz@gmail.com), M.Sc. student, Medical Sciences programme, University of Guanajuato. Thesis project: fatty acids, DNA methylation and fertility in humans. External advisor: Dr. Antonio M. Gutiérrez Gutiérrez, Instituto Vida, León. Co-advisor: Gertrud Lund, CINVESTAV Irapuato. Viridiana Abigail Correa Navarro (va.correanavarro@ugto.mx), Ph.D. student, Medical Sciences programme, University of Guanajuato. Thesis project: intergenerational effects of paternal exposure to arachidonic acid on the proteome in mice. Co-advisor: Gertrud Lund, CINVESTAV Irapuato. Dr. Yolanda Alvarado Caudillo (yolalva@hotmail.com), Laboratory Technician, shared with another PI. Jaime Eduardo Sánchez Palafox (jaime.sanchez@ugto.mx), Research Assistant ("Ayudante a SNI3/Emérito") funded by CONAHCyT. Isaí Andrés Andrade Pacheco (ia.andradepacheco@ugto.mx), MD student, University of Guanajuato, Research Intern. Saul Efraín Campos Falcón (saulenmsl@outlook.com), Nutrition Sciences student, Humani Mundial University, Research Intern. |