摘要表观遗传修饰包括DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰、非编码RNA等，是决定基因表达的重要因素。越来越多的研究表明，表观遗传调控可能在脓毒症的发生发展过程中占有重要地位。由于DNA甲基化的机制明确，研究手段也相对成熟，因此其在脓毒症相关研究中受到了广泛关注。现通过回顾近年来对于脓毒症中DNA甲基化机制的研究，从病原学和免疫学等方面阐明DNA甲基化修饰在脓毒症病理生理进程中所起到的关键作用，同时对DNA甲基化在脓毒症诊断、预后和治疗中的应用潜力进行总结，为进一步研究指明方向。

abstractsEpigenetic modification includes DNA methylation, histone modification, non-coding RNA, etc., and is crucial in determining gene expression. A growing number of recent studies have shown that epigenetic regulation may play a central role in the pathogenesis of sepsis. Due to its explicit mechanism and relatively mature technic, DNA methylation has received extensive attention in sepsis-related researches. By examining recent studies on septic DNA methylation mechanism, this review elucidates the key role in sepsis occurrence and progression that DNA methylation plays from etiology, immunology and other aspects, as well as its application potential in the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of sepsis before pointing out the direction for further research.